Lotus
by StoryQuipster
Summary: Jin doesn't know what on earth the cryptic arts are or what being an initiate means. She wonders, for a second, if her grandfather had just insulted her.
1. Chapter 1

**1**

* * *

It is late in the evening. Jin sits at the edge of her bed and slowly starts unraveling her braids, her fingers weaving through her dark hair in quick, mechanical motions. She keeps her eyes trained on the bedside lamp, watching as the flames flicker and glint, casting a warm glow on her already darkened room.

There is a knock on the living room door. She hears it, loud and clear, the sound carrying all the way to her room.

Jin pauses and frowns. Who could be up at this hour? It is already way past curfew. What could that person possibly want?

"Jin!"

The sharp, raspy voice of her grandfather comes off as a croak as he yells her name out loud. Jin sighs, knowing full well what he is about to say next.

"Go get the door!" he barks.

She scowls and hops off her bed, grabbing a hairband and twisting her newly unbraided hair into a ponytail. She grabs her bathrobe and wraps it around her before putting the lamp on a lamp holder and walking out the door.

The knocking continues as she hurries across the hallways, her bare feet padding against the wood-covered floor. The house is quiet, the servants and workers already in their rooms, preparing to sleep. Finally, she reaches the living room and after retying the sash of her robe into a tighter knot, she wrenches the door open.

"Good evening," Jin politely says as she peers down at the person knocking.

"Good evening." He is an old man, possibly only younger than her grandfather by a few years and he is short and round-bellied. His eyes are kind and his lips are curled into a pleasant smile. His clothes look shabby and well-worn and he really doesn't look like someone who is from the Upper Ring.

"Can I help you?" Jin says warily as her eyes narrow in suspicion. He looks harmless enough but no one at this time of the evening, way past curfew, dressed shabbily, knocking on their door could be up to anything good.

The man nods at her and seems unperturbed by her hostile demeanor. He says, "Yes. I actually want to talk to Luong Fu. This is his house, I believe."

"Yeah. He's my grandfather, actually," Jin says, tensing a little. She wonders what this scruffy-looking man wearing raggedy clothes could possibly want from her grandfather.

He smiles at her. "I never knew that he had a granddaughter. I am actually an old friend of his. I just need to talk to him for a few minutes. If you would be so kind to call him…"

Jin doesn't think that her grandfather will be happy if she wakes him or interrupts him when he is on his way to sleep. He already sounded annoyed enough when he called. Waking him up will probably result in a long scolding.

"I don't know. I think he's already asleep. Maybe you can come again tomorrow or—''

"Jin!? Did you get the door already!?" her grandfather screeches. She hears his loud, steady footsteps banging against the hallway floor.

She looks back and yells, "Yes, grandpa, I already answered it—''

Her grandfather emerges from the hallway and into the living room. He folds his arms and impatiently says, "Well? Who is it? Who's knocking at our door at this time of the hour?"

Before Jin can reply, the man speaks up, "One who has tasted the fruit and eaten its mysteries."

The response is cryptic and confusing at best and Jin is sure that whoever this man is, is a lunatic. She is about to think of an excuse to send him away before her grandfather loses his temper when her grandfather elbows her to the side. He grabs the lamp from her hands and holds it over his face, as he reverently says, "Ah…of course! Of course! They told me that you would be arriving today although I did not imagine that it would be at this hour!"

"I got a little tied up at our new jobs," the man genially says.

Jin stares at the two of them in bewilderment. She doesn't know who this man is but he seems to be important enough to warrant respect from her grandfather.

Her grandfather opens the door wide and says, "Come in! Come in! We can talk some more over a warm cup of tea and a good game of Pai Sho!"

The man happily nods, "I would love to."

Her grandfather turns to look at her and he quickly barks, "Go and wake Niang up and tell her to prepare some tea and something to eat! And when it's all done, bring it to my room!"

Jin blinks at him once, confused. "Um…what?"

Her grandfather stamps at his foot impatiently and snaps, "You heard me. Wake Niang up and tell her to prepare some tea and something to eat!"

Jin splutters, "But, it's way past curfew and—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as I say!" He then turns to look at the man and says in an apologetic tone, "You must forgive my granddaughter. She is not yet an initiate and she doesn't have much interest in the cryptic arts."

Jin doesn't know what on earth the cryptic arts are or what being an initiate means. She wonders, for a second, if her grandfather had just insulted her.

The man laughs loudly and chuckles, "She is very much like my nephew, then. But really, your granddaughter is very lovely! And you don't need to trouble yourself so much. I am a man of simple needs."

Her grandfather shakes his head and says, "Nonsense! I insist!"

He then turns to Jin and with a shooing motion of his hands, he barks, "And what are you waiting for?! Go on! Wake Niang up! We'll be in my room. And I want _you_ to serve the tea and food. _Not Niang. _Understood?_"_

"Yes, grandfather." Jin respectfully bows. Her grandfather gives her a satisfied nod.

Her grandfather leads the man by his shoulder towards his room and excitedly babbles, "I have a new Pai Sho set. Ivory. Each tile is handcrafted by the best of Ba Sing Se. Very fine…"

Jin turns around and runs to Niang's room, deciding to push aside her questions for the moment, lest she suffers her grandfather's rage.

* * *

Niang is their cook. She is about forty years old, though her gnarled hands, lined face and graying hair make her look older than she actually is. She is kind and sweet although her memory isn't the best and she never fails to blatantly express her disapproval in Jin's lack of skills in cooking and sewing—things she feels that every proper young lady should know.

When Jin wakes her up, she is less than pleased. She curses and mutters under her breath and after a great deal of protesting, she stomps over towards the kitchen and starts brewing the tea and preparing the rice cakes.

Jin sits on a chair and props her elbows up against the table as she watches Niang move about the kitchen.

"It is already past curfew! Who could it possibly be? Is he so important that I have to be woken up and subjected to all this cooking?!" Niang rages as she slams around the pots and trays.

Jin shrugs. "He must be really important. Gramps was practically falling all over himself for the guy."

Niang harrumphs as she starts popping the rice cakes into the oven. She suddenly pauses and turns around to give Jin a curious look. "And what are you still doing here? You should be getting back to sleep. You have work tomorrow. I can take care of this myself."

Niang then snorts. "And the Spirits know that you are absolutely useless in the kitchen."

Jin sheepishly smiles at her and says, "Gramps told me that I had to be the one to serve them."

Niang raises a brow. She then self-consciously tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Oh. What's wrong if I serve them?"

"Nothing." Jin gives a dismissive wave. "Gramps's just being gramps. You know how weird he can be sometimes. It's probably just one of those things."

Niang purses her lips and narrows her eyes at Jin, as if she can't quite believe her. Then, she turns her attention back to the stove when the tea pot squeals. After a few more minutes, the rice cakes are ready and Niang grabs a fancy-looking tray and piles the plate of rice cakes and teapot and teacups on it.

She hands it to Jin and says, "Here it is. If this all your grandfather wants, I'll be going back to sleep now."

Jin nods and says, "Of course, Niang. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

She quickly pads towards her grandfather's room and knocks on his door.

"Come in!" her grandfather calls out. Jin slides the door open and steps in.

The lamps in her grandfather's room are all lit and the window curtains are drawn open. Her grandfather and the man are sitting at the center of the room, her grandfather's new Pai Sho set between them. Her grandfather beckons her to come closer and Jin hastily serves them the tea and rice cakes.

"Thank you very much," the man says as Jin hands him his cup.

"You're welcome," Jin replies with a smile.

"You'll have to forgive us if the tea isn't very good. Niang can't brew very well. They have told me that you are very critical of your tea," her grandfather says.

The man's grin widens and he courteously says, "The tea is delicious. And so are the rice cakes. My best compliments to the cook."

"I'm glad you like it," her grandfather says.

"You really shouldn't have gone to this much trouble."

"Don' be ridiculous. A Grand Lotus like yourself deserves it."

Jin makes a move towards the door but her grandfather stops her by grabbing her wrist. He says, "I almost forgot to introduce my granddaughter."

"We have already met, I believe. She is such a lovely young woman," the man says as he nods at Jin. Jin gives him a small smile.

"Her name is Jin. She just graduated. She passed the entrance exam and she'll be attending the University in the fall," her grandfather proudly says. Despite herself, Jin smiles a little at his compliment. It's rare for her grandfather to compliment her or anyone else for that matter.

Her grandfather roughly pokes her in the ribs and Jin quickly gives a bow. She says without looking up, "It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"As it is to make yours," the old man says.

Her grandfather continues, "She has a younger brother, Ro, but he is asleep right now. I will have to introduce you to him some other time."

"I look forward to it," the man laughs.

Her grandfather then waves his hand at her and says, "You can go on now. He and I will just finish our Pai Sho game. Don't go to sleep yet. I have to talk to you about something later."

Jin frowns at him but she leaves before he can reprimand her any further. She goes to the living room and sits on the couch, annoyed to have to stay awake for much longer. What does her grandfather need to talk to her about that it can't wait until morning?

She folds her arms and scowls. Questions about the mysterious man begin to flood her mind and she wonders, for the hundredth time, who he is. Despite his shabby appearance, he seems to be someone important. She has never seen her grandfather treat a man with such respect—most of the time; he addresses people in a perpetually impatient and irate manner.

Sighing, she gets up and grabs a book she's been meaning to finish since vacation started.

She settles back against the couch and attempts to read the small, tiny characters. If she's going to wait, she might as well do something useful.

* * *

Someone shakes her awake.

"Get up!"

"No," she automatically responds.

Jin groans and buries her head, deeper into the warmth of her pillows. She hears her grandfather sigh in annoyance and she gasps when he sharply pinches her in the shoulder. Her eyes snap open and she groggily stares up at him.

He is frowning at her in disapproval and his arms are folded. His foot is tapping against the floor in an annoying rhythm. "I told you to stay awake."

She pinches the bridge of her nose and mutters, "Sorry. I was trying to read this book I've been trying to finish. I must have fallen asleep."

"Humph."

Jin glares at him and waspishly says, "Staying awake at this time of the night is pretty hard."

"You think I enjoy staying up at this hour?" he demands. Jin grumbles and he pointedly asks, "And what I have to say to you is really important. It can't wait for tomorrow."

Jin scowls, stretches her arms and sits up. She looks around. "Where's your friend?"

"He already left," he replies.

Jin frowns in worry. "But it's so late. Way past curfew. He might run into the Dai Li and—''

Her grandfather rolls his eyes and interrupts her, "He can take care of himself. And don't worry. Someone else came to lead him back to the Lower Ring. Another friend of ours who's high up in the government. He'll have no trouble springing Mushi out if someone from the Dai Li stops them."

"Um…who's Mushi?"

Her grandfather clicks his tongue impatiently. He says, "Mushi. The man who came here tonight. That's his name."

"Oh. Okay." She raises a brow at him and smirks. "So is that the super important thing you needed to talk to me about?"

Her grandfather glares at her. "No."

He then snaps his fingers in front of her eyes and barks, "Now, sit up straighter and wake up! I want you to pay close attention to what I'm about to tell you. It's really important."

At the tone of his voice, Jin becomes more serious. She solemnly nods her head and sits up straighter. Her grandfather grabs a chair and takes a seat in front of her. He folds his arms and looks her in the eye as he says, "You don't have to work the afternoon shift tomorrow."

"Why?" Jin says, surprised. Her grandfather never lets her have a day off, not even on weekends.

"Because I need you to do something for me," he replies simply.

Jin sighs. Of course. She doesn't have to work tomorrow but she still has an errand to do. She slumps in her seat and says tiredly, "What is it?"

"You know how to use the monorail, right?" he says,

Jin scoffs. "Of course."

Her grandfather takes a slip of paper from his sleeves and holds it out for her. Jin takes it from his hand and reads it. It's an address.

Jin gives him a questioning look and he says, "That is the address of the teashop Mushi and his nephew are working in."

"And?" She isn't sure where her grandfather is going with this.

"I want you to go there, watch over them and make sure nothing bad happens to them." He says it as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?!" Jin splutters, completely confused.

"Do your ears need cleaning!? I thought I made it perfectly clear! I want you to go to the teashop and make sure nothing bad happens to them! I want you to protect them!"

The questions start pouring in again and this time, she can't stop herself. "But why? Who is he anyway? Why do I need to—''

"He is a very,_ very_ important man and we need to make sure that he and his nephew will be safe here in Ba Sing Se," her grandfather interrupts her as he holds a hand up.

"Safe from what? We're in Ba Sing Se. What could they possibly need protecting from?" Jin demands.

Her grandfather is acting strangely again. He's done this before; giving her a task to do without telling her all the details. She wants to ask him what this is all about, wants to demand the answers from him. But she knows, just like before, that she won't get anything if the old man doesn't want to tell her.

Her grandfather scowls at her and irately snaps, "Silly girl, stop asking so many questions! Just go on and do as you're told!"

He closes his eyes, rubs his head and schools his features before looking at her again. He says in a much kinder tone, "I don't expect you to understand yet but it's my job to protect them."

Jin scowls and folds her arms. She pointedly says, "If it's your job, then why don't you do it?"

"Because someone needs to be watching the shop and we can't very well leave it in the hands of the workers!" he snaps. He then sighs and gestures at the wrinkles on his hands and face. "And besides, look at me! I'm an old man! You can't expect me to take the monorail all the way to Lower Ring every day. You know how I hate how crowded the monorail is! And you also know how much I hate the Lower Ring! That place smells!"

"Wait—what? _Every day?"_ Jin says, her eyes widening in horror.

"Well, yes. Didn't I already tell you this? You'll be going there every day to look after them," her grandfather snippily says.

"I thought that was only for tomorrow!"

"It's not. From here on out, I'm giving you the afternoon shift off so that you have time to go to the shop. It's not a terrible job. You can drink tea and relax and study or read at times if you want. If anything suspicious happens to them, tell me right away. Just be discreet about it. Wear simple clothes so you'll blend in with everyone else in the Lower Ring. Don't attract too much attention, especially the attention of the Dai Li," her grandfather says,

Jin protests, "But—''

Her grandfather growls, stands up and snaps, "You're going to the shop everyday and that's that. Deal with it."

He then marches off to his bedroom, leaving a very confused and annoyed Jin in his wake.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I actually started writing a fic about Jin being a Dai Li agent at the same time that I started writing this but for some reason, I finished this first. I will be updating every week . I would update faster but unfortunately, my internet service sucks and is extremely unreliable. If I finished everything, why don't I just post it in one go, you ask? Because most of the chapters are extremely raw; they still need some editing. I will most probably post the Dai Li story after this is finished or maybe simultaneously if I do get it done (Highly unlikely though since I have a shitload of papers to do.)

Please review if you have the time. If you're going to flame me, at least try to make it funny.

Thank you for your patience and happy reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

* * *

When Jin enters the greenhouse, she hears yelling and a string of curses. She smirks when she sees that it is her grandfather arguing with a customer. She hangs by a patch of blooming peonies and waits until her grandfather and the customer finish squabbling before making her way towards him.

"You know, fighting with your customers isn't really a good way to keep them," Jin lightly says as she tries to stop herself from giggling.

Her grandfather hates the business aspect of his Gardening and Landscaping Shop; he hates dealing with customers and going through lengthy and boring business transactions. He much prefers raising and growing the plants and flowers and vegetables, taking great pleasure in the beauty he has created with his own hands. Selling the plants and produce, handling business transactions and keeping the books, records and accounts are jobs that are generally delegated to Jin.

When Jin is in school and is too busy to work in the shop, her grandfather watches over it by himself. It falls into a terrible state under his care since he always ends up arguing with the customers and losing all the paperwork.

Her grandfather scowls and snaps, "Pah! That woman was complaining to me about how we landscaped her garden wrong! Which is ridiculous since we landscaped her garden exactly as she had designed it in this paper!"

He waves the paper with the design in front of her face before continuing, "And she wants a refund! Can you believe her!? A _refund_!"

Jin raises a brow at him. "Did you give her a refund?"

"What!? Of course not! She was trying to rob me of my money! I sent her away and called her a cheat!"

She gives her grandfather a look of horror. "Gramps, she is one of our best customers! She wanted us to do the flower arrangements for her son's wedding! You shouldn't have been so rude to her! She might cancel—''

"And so what?" her grandfather retorts. He stamps his foot and declares, "We have plenty of other customers! I don't need that old cow's money."

"But—''

He suddenly narrows his eyes against hers and demands, "And what are you doing here? You're back early from the teashop."

Jin sighs and fingers the leaf of a bamboo shoot. She grumbles, "I left because sitting there is boring and a waste of time."

He frowns at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugs. "They're just two people serving tea. That's it. They're regular people. They don't even seem to be in danger."

She's been in the shop for days and she still doesn't understand why her grandfather sent her there. The two tea servers don't really seem as important as her grandfather says they are and she doesn't see the point in going back there every day.

"You didn't notice anything unusual?" her grandfather questions.

"Well, there is this one boy…" She pauses and hesitates.

"What? What about him?!" her grandfather says, his eyes wide with alarm.

Jin looks at him, worried at the tense way her grandfather clenches his hands. "He's around my age. I always see him hanging around near the teashop every day—''

Her grandfather gives an annoyed huff. "So a regular customer of theirs constitutes as unusual activity?"

Jin scowls at him and patiently explains through gritted teeth, "No. I said he always hangs out _near_ the teashop, not _in_ the teashop. I don't know. He's always lurking in the alleyways across the teashop or hanging around the clotheslines of the building across it."

Her grandfather looks away and strokes his beard, his green-grey eyes deep in concentration. He doesn't say anything for a long time and a tense silence fills the greenhouse. Finally, he glances at her sideways and says, "Has he done anything aside from watching them? Has he spoken to them? Has he approached them in any way?"

Jin shakes her head. "No. Not really. He just watches them."

When he doesn't say anything, Jin says, "So…do you want me to talk to him or something?"

"No. Just keep an eye on him. If something happens I know that you are more than capable of handling yourself. Keep on going to that tea shop and watch over them. And remember, if anything suspicious happens—''

"Report it to you right away. I know," Jin wearily finishes for him. She loudly sighs and says, "Do I really have to do this? I mean, nothing interesting ever happens. The two of them are regular refugees, normal people. I don't get what they need protecting from—''

"Silly girl, stop complaining so much! Just go on and do as you're told!" her grandfather irately interrupts her. He glares at her reprovingly.

Jin frowns at him, before sighing, relenting. Her grandfather is a stubborn old man and if he wants her to do something, chances are, he won't stop pestering or scolding her until she does it. It will probably be easier for everyone if she just does as he says.

"Fine."

He gives her a satisfied smile before drawing a thick stack of papers from his sleeves. He shoves it all into Jin's hands and gruffly says, "Sort through all this paperwork and bills while you're closing up. You know how I can't stare at sloppily written characters for too long! They're bad for my eyes!"

He stalks off to examine the vegetable patches outside.

Jin shakes her head and hurries to her grandfather's desk, buried somewhere at the back with all the plants. Her mind races as she sorts through all papers, bills and hates the way her grandfather never tells her anything, hates that way he keeps telling her to do stuff while keeping her in the dark. He's keeping things from her and she wants answers.

She wonders if the day will ever come when her grandfather tells her everything.

* * *

Jin looks out of the window and watches the boy as he leans back against the wall, the shadows of the alleyway of obscuring his face. She has seen the boy every day, almost always in the same position, his arms folded and his mouth perpetually chewing a stringy piece of straw. It's almost as if he's waiting for something. But what could it be?

Two other figures, both boys she supposes, approach him. One is short with a small, shaggy mane of brown hair that doesn't quite exactly fall to his shoulder. A khukri knife hangs at his sides. The other is tall with a straw hat and a bow and a quiver of arrows are fastened on his back. They are all armed, she realizes. Even the boy who always hides in the shadows, has a pair of swords that are hooked at the ends strapped to his back.

It is definitely something that she needs to tell her grandfather this evening.

"Here's your tea."

She jumps, startled. Jin tears her attention away from the window to the boy standing in front of her. He stands there, hands outstretched with the cup of tea, his brows furrowed and a tight line set into his mouth.

It's the nephew. She doesn't know much about him except that he is surly and ill-tempered and a perpetual frown rests on his face. He is certainly nothing like his uncle, Mushi, who always smiles at her pleasantly whenever he sees her. Although it could be that Mushi is simply being polite because he recognizes her from that night he went to visit her grandfather. Now that she thinks about it, he has never actually spoken to her or shown any indication that he is aware her grandfather sent her here to "watch over them". He merely regards her like every other customer—with a genial smile and a polite bow of his head.

"Thank you," Jin quickly says as he slams the teacup on her table. She frowns, a little put off by his rude behavior. It's almost as if he's angry at her for something, although she doesn't understand what it could possibly be. She hasn't done anything to him.

He gives a stiff nod before turning around to walk away.

She glares at him, her eyes narrowing against his profile. He has a handsome face that is dusted by a short, spiky crop of dark hair. A large, angry red scar marks his left face. She feels a spasm of sadness when she realizes that a Firebender must have done that to him. No wonder he looks so frustrated or angry all the time.

The door suddenly bursts open. Jin's eyes widen when she realizes that it is the boy with the hook swords.

"I'm tired of waiting!" he yells. He points an accusing finger at Mushi and his nephew. "These two men are firebenders!"

Firebenders? Ridiculous. Her grandfather would not send her to protect firebenders. The boy is clearly confused. Or crazy.

He suddenly unsheathes his hook swords. Jin tenses. He's going to attack them. Is this the danger her grandfather wants her to protect them from? Spirits, what should she do? Should she jump in front of them and use her earthbending? But that will attract attention to herself. Her grandfather told her to be discreet.

"I know they're firebenders, I saw the old man heating his tea!" the boy insistently says when he realizes that everyone is looking at him in disbelief.

"He works in a tea shop," a customer pipes up.

The boy scowls and says, "He's a firebender! I'm _telling_ you!"

Jin gets up in panic, her feet automatically widening into an earthbending stance. The customer stands up with another man and blocks her way, saying in a patronizing voice, "Drop your swords boy. Nice and easy…"

He cuts him off. "You'll have to defend yourself. Then everyone will know. Go ahead. Show them what you can do."

A sound slices through the air as the nephew steps forward and unsheathes the pair of swords from the customer's side and holds them up in a defensive stance. He scowls, "You want a show? I'll give you a show!"

Before Jin can move, they go at each other swords swinging. Jin stays rooted in her place, transfixed like everyone else as she watches the two of them forcing each other back and forth in a battle of dominance. His uncle stands in his place with a shocked and upset expression on his face. A loud clang rings across the tea shop whenever their swords make contact.

Jin is finally reminded of her task when the nephew hurtles backwards and bursts out of the door. Everyone, including her, empties out of the teashop and into the street to watch the fight. It is already evening and Jin realizes, for the first time, that she stayed in the teashop later than usual today.

She nibbles on her bottom lip when the boy hooks the ends of his swords together and begins to swing at them in the nephew's direction. The nephew retreats backwards, his swords crossed in front of him protectively.

The boy is gaining the upper hand. She needs to do something—_anything_—to help him. Her grandfather explicitly told her to protect them. And as much as the man annoys her, she cares about him. This is clearly something important to him and she doesn't want to disappoint him by messing up.

But she can't just go over there and stop them. It will look strange and raise too many questions. Her fingers drum against her thighs incessantly, a habit she does whenever she's nervous or trying to think.

A flash of billowing robes catches her eye. She whips her head to the side and her mouth breaks into a wide smile when she sees a pair of Dai Li agents. She weaves through the crowd of people and hurtles towards them, the clanging sounds of the swords locking ringing in her ears.

She manages to catch up to them before they turn left into the corner.

"Excuse me! Sir!"

The two agents pause in mid-step. They tilt their heads a fraction of an inch upwards, acknowledging her presence. Jin points to the direction of the teashop and says, "There's a fight going on over there. A boy just attacked someone else for no reason."

The Dai Li agents share a look and murmur to each other in quick conversation before turning back to look at Jin. One of them nods and says, "Take us there."

She leads them to the area where the two boys are fighting and after managing to pull them apart, the Dai Li agents grab the boy dragging him away as he stubbornly yells and asserts that Mushi and his nephew are firebenders.

Guilt sweeps over Jin as she watches the boy writhe against the Dai Li's grasp. She knows how the Dai Li operates. Her grandfather has told her about Long Feng and Lake Laogai and what really goes on in there. She can only hope that nothing too serious happens to him. A nasty feeling surges from the pit of her stomach.

Mushi catches her eye and sends her a grateful look. She manages a small smile. She looks at the direction where they took the boy for one last time before making her way to the monorail station.

This is something her grandfather would definitely want to know.

* * *

They are already eating dinner when she gets home. Her little brother is busily scarfing down all of his stew, chunks of beef and sauce peppered all over his face. Her grandfather frowns at her, his brows drawn in disapproval as he passes the bowl of rice towards her.

"You're late," he says reprovingly as Jin starts heaping rice into her bowl.

"Sorry. Ran into some trouble today," she says and she watches him carefully as his face folds into a look of worry and alarm.

She opens her mouth to speak again, ready to tell him the whole story when he holds his hand up and snaps, "I don't want to hear about it right now. I want to eat my dinner in peace. We'll talk some more in the garden."

"But—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as I say!" he irately barks. Her little brother giggles at her, his dimples showing as he tries to hide his laughter.

Jin glares at her grandfather and scowls before grabbing her chopsticks and slurping some of her noodles. Their dinner continues on in the same manner that it usually does every night—lively conversation that is mostly punctuated with her grandfather complaining about his back, his gums, his eyesight, the customers, the workers, _everything_.

When they finish eating, her grandfather grabs her by the elbow and steers her into the garden. Her little brother yells in protest and hurries after them. The three of them walk through the flower beds and plants in silence, with Jin's brother bounding ahead of them, talking animatedly. When her little brother is at a good distance away, her grandfather pauses and grabs her shoulder before she can walk any further.

"Well!?" He stamps his foot impatiently. "Go on! You said you ran into some trouble! Tell me about it!"

Jin frowns at him and folds her arms. "Oh. So now I can talk?"

Her grandfather pinches the bridge of his nose and impatiently explains, "We obviously can't talk in there, where the servants and anyone else who wants to listen can hear us!"

Jin pauses, wondering why no one, aside from her and her grandfather, are allowed to know or hear what she is about to say. She is about to ask another question but her grandfather interrupts her and snaps, "Now, go on and tell me what happened! We haven't got all night!"

"Someone attacked them," Jin says in a rush.

"What?" Her grandfather's eyes widen. He grabs her by the shoulders and nearly shakes her as he says, "What are you talking about?! Who attacked them? The Dai Li!?"

Jin shakes her head and carefully removes herself from her grandfather's grip. "No. Not them. The boy I was telling you about. The one who is always hanging around near their teashop. He came in and started accusing them of being firebenders."

His eyes suddenly widen and they are masked with an emotion she can't recognize. He looks at the patch of tomatoes at the right and doesn't say anything for a long time. Jin watches him, trying to figure out what he is feeling, what he is thinking. The silence scares her a little bit and she wants him to say something, even if it is another heated reprimand.

He starts muttering under his breath and all she can catch is, "Great. After all that trouble getting them in here... Smuggling them out will be twice as hard…Forging new passports won't be easy…"

Jin stares at him in bewilderment. "Um…what?"

He ignores her and continues muttering. He finally looks at her and hesitantly says, "Did anyone…did anyone believe him? The boy who accused them of being firebenders?"

"No, of course not. That's just stupid. Firebenders can't possibly be in the city, right?"

He doesn't answer her. Instead, he responds with another question, "So what happened? Did you help them out?"

"No. His nephew grabbed a pair of swords and started fighting the other guy." Jin snorts. "He doesn't really need protecting. He could defend himself just fine. Which is why I think going to the shop is useless—''

"Did he get hurt? How about Mushi? Did you at least do anything useful?" he interrupts.

"I called the Dai Li," Jin says, her chest sinking in guilt at the memory.

"Pah! This is a disaster!" her grandfather cries. He glares at her and accusingly says, "I told you to make sure nothing happens to them! I ask you to do one thing and you make a mess of it!"

Jin's cheeks grow hot, the sting of failure washing over her. She can't bear to meet his eyes. She looks down and mumbles, "I'm sorry, Gramps."

"Humph."

A finger suddenly tips her chin upwards, forcing her to look at her grandfather. His expression has softened and traces of a smile can be seen from beneath his bushy beard. He says, "You still did your job in the end. You did it _sloppily_ but you still did it."

Jin's mouth curves into a smile when she realizes that he isn't as mad as he seems. He pats her on the shoulder and says, "Now, go on and catch up with your little brother. I think he wants to play with you. Continue going to the teashop."

"Yes, Gramps," Jin says as she moves forward to find her little brother.

Jin cringes when he calls after her, "And make sure that you don't mess up this time!"


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

* * *

"Your plants are certainly remarkable, Luong. You've done well for yourself," Mushi says as he looks around the greenhouse. Jin looks up from the flower arrangement she is working on and widens her eyes in surprise when she sees the portly old man. Her grandfather is right behind him, his lips curled into a proud smile.

"Well, you didn't exactly leave me with any options after the whole Ba Sing Se siege ordeal. The plant business was the only way to go for me," her grandfather chuckles.

She hasn't seen Mushi since the night he first came to visit them. She wonders, not for the first time, how the man manages to travel in between Rings with relative ease. She knows all too well how snooty all those bureaucrats and guards can be, even on Free Movement Days. She goes back to her flower arrangement and half-listens as her grandfather and Mushi discuss fertilizers and Pai Sho.

"That's a lovely flower arrangement," Mushi says. Jin jumps a little, startled. She looks up and offers him a small smile.

"Thank you," Jin says. After a few seconds, she adds, "You make great tea, too. It's the best I have ever tasted."

"You are too kind," Mushi genially says. Her grandfather comes up from behind him and tells Jin that he wants her to water the bear orchids. Jin is about to reply when Mushi suddenly asks, "So Jin do you have a boyfriend?"

Jin pauses, confused. "Um...what?"

Her grandfather rolls his eyes and dismissively says, "No, she doesn't, thank the Spirits. I've had enough boy troubles from my daughter to last me a lifetime."

Mushi suddenly gives a conspiratorial grin and says, "Well, what a coincidence! My nephew doesn't have a girlfriend as well!"

Jin shifts in her place, uncomfortable with the look on Mushi's face. She has a vague idea on where this conversation is heading and she doesn't like it. She ducks down and attempts to move past them, saying, "I'll just water those bear orchids for you now—''

"I need to ask a favor from you, Jin. If it's alright with you, of course," Mushi says and before she can leave, her grandfather grabs her by the elbow and steers her back into the counter.

"That…um…depends," Jin mumbles. She nervously toys with the hem of her sleeve and starts biting her bottom lip.

"My nephew's been a little down since we moved here. He's just a little upset with…what happened before we got here and…well, never mind," he says. Jin nods—she knows how it feels to lose everything to the Fire Nation. Well, it isn't as if she asked them for their life story or anything but it's pretty obvious that, that is what happened to them. There is veiled sadness behind Mushi's bright eyes; she knows it's there because she used to look like that too.

"My point is that my nephew has been feeling a little out of it lately and I was wondering if you could maybe show him around the city for the night. Take him out to dinner; help him lighten up a bit. The spirits know that the boy needs it," Mushi says, a small joking smile on his face.

Jin stares at him incredulously. "Wait—so you want me…to take your nephew out on a date?"

"Well, not exactly but when you put it that way…"

"Oh no, I can't." Jin shakes her head and her grandfather glares at her, as if refusing Mushi's request is such a huge fallacy. "I mean…I'm sure your nephew is a nice guy but well, I'm really busy—''

"Busy doing what? I gave you the afternoon shift off," her grandfather gruffly interrupts.

Jin ignores him. "—and I don't think he really likes me that much…"

Mushi laughs and shakes his head. "Oh, don't be put off by him. He's like that with everybody. Even me."

"Look, I'd really like to help but—''

"She'd love to!" her grandfather says before she can continue.

Mushi smiles and gives a short bow. "Thank you."

"But—''

"Mushi, have you seen my Fire lilies? I've been having trouble getting their buds to open for awhile now but they're coming along nicely…" her grandfather says before Jin can protest any further. He quickly steers Mushi outside towards the greenhouse.

"Grandpa…" Jin hisses.

"If she doesn't want to, then it's really okay," Mushi says. Her grandfather shakes his head and says, "Oh no, don't be ridiculous. She would love to."

"No, I don't—''

"Just go and help his poor nephew out," he hisses back as he leads Mushi through the door.

"But, I don't want to—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as I say!" he snaps as he walks outside.

Jin sighs and slumps against the counter-top. Spirits, the things that man gets her into.

* * *

She thinks that it's a little stupid that she's forced into her first date with a cranky, ill-mannered boy by her grandfather, of all people. (And it's weird because her grandfather is deathly allergic to the idea of her dating _anyone_.) But it's not as if she can do anything about it. Her grandfather usually gets his way and in an uncharacteristically serious voice, he told her that Mushi had saved his life once and that sending Jin to go on a date with his nephew is the least her grandfather could do for him. She tried asking him for more details but he just got annoyed and told her to start pruning his flower beds.

So the next day, she walks over towards the counter and just asks him out. His nephew—Lee—just blinks at her and she can tell that going on a date with a complete stranger isn't something that he wants to do as well. His uncle accepts for him and she flashes a huge smile and makes the arrangements.

As she leaves the shop, she catches Mushi's eye. He winks at her and mouths, "Thank you" and suddenly she doesn't feel as annoyed about the whole thing.

* * *

When Lee walks out of the door, she smiles because he looks cute even if he does look ridiculous. She messes his hair up and he waspishly responds that it took his uncle _ten minutes_ to do his hair. She just smiles at him and grabs him by the arm before dragging him off to the nearest restaurant. She thinks that his irritated and angry behavior is a little silly and she suddenly, irrationally wants to make him smile. At least just _once_ tonight.

They don't talk while they eat dinner. Jin feels nervous and she doesn't really know what she is supposed to say to him. He hasn't looked at her in the eye once or made any attempt at starting a conversation.

She decides that if there's ever going to be any talking between the two of them, she's the one who has to start. She clears her throat and says, "So, how do you like the city so far?"

"It's okay."

Well, isn't he the conversationalist, Jin dryly thinks. She decides to try again. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Nothing."

She inwardly sighs in exasperation. If this is what Mushi has to deal with everyday, it's no wonder why the man wants his nephew out of his hair for the night.

She's about to ask him another question when the waiter interrupts them and asks if they would care for some dessert. Lee responds by slamming his fist against the table and yelling to the whole restaurant that Jin is most certainly _not_ his girlfriend.

(Well, at least now she knows that he's really concerned about proper labeling.)

Her cheeks flush and she chokes on the duck meat she is chewing. To hide her embarrassment, Jin ducks her head down and starts stuffing a large quantity of noodles into her mouth.

He then says the most interesting to come out of his mouth yet. "You have... quite an appetite for a girl…"

Jin looks up at him and uncomfortably says, "Umm…thanks?"

(It's nice though, that he's at least trying to compliment her.)

Jin decides to move on. "So, Lee, where were you and your uncle living before you came here?"

She's asking because she is curious. Lee and his uncle must be really important people for her grandfather to go through all that trouble of protecting them and keeping them happy here in Ba Sing Se. If her grandfather won't tell her then she figures that maybe Lee might have some answers.

But instead, all he really says is, "Umm…well we've been traveling around for a long time."

"Oh." She tries not to sound too disappointed. "Why were you traveling so much?"

"We were…uh…part of this traveling circus," he haltingly says.

He's lying, she can tell. She suddenly feels bad for prying. She figures that something horrible happened to him and his uncle before they came to Ba Sing Se, something that the Fire Nation had done. He obviously does not want to talk about it. She wonders if she should just go along with his lie or comfort him. She decides to go with the former—comforting him means talking about it and she's pretty sure that, that is the last thing he wants to do right now.

"Really? What did you do? Wait…let me guess…" She taps her chin and pretends to think about it. "You juggled!"

She does not expect him to agree. Giggling to herself a little, she hands him a couple of pots and objects and asks him to give her a demonstration. Lee nervously takes all of the objects and as she expected, fails miserably when he attempts to juggle. As he is cleaning his face off with a rag, Jin decides that she wants to take him to the Firelight Fountain. It's a little ridiculous and she doesn't think that he will appreciate it very much, but she wants him to see it anyway. It might cheer him up and make him feel better.

She's never shown anyone the Firelight Fountain before but she figures that she can show Lee. Lee is nice enough and he's surprisingly being a good sport about the whole evening. She thinks that she should be offended by his sometimes rude behavior but she isn't. His outbursts don't seem intentional—they mostly seem to be a result of his impulses.

She takes him by the hand and leads him towards the fountain. When they get there, her face falls. The lamps aren't lit. It's not a big deal but she's a little disappointed. It's a shame that he won't be able to see the fountain with all the lamps lit. She was hoping that showing it to him would help him lighten up. She figures that living in the Lower Ring is enough to make anyone angry and irritable—it's overcrowded and hot and people are always out to mug you. But the fountain is one of the few places in the Lower Ring that's beautiful and it never fails to put a smile on her face whenever she goes there.

"Close your eyes. And don't peek," Lee suddenly tells her.

She looks at him incredulously, but he just motions for her to do as he says. Jin's lips quirk into a small smile and she closes her eyes.

She peeks between her fingers because she's curious and she's never been one to do something just because someone told her to (except maybe when it's her grandfather doing the ordering).

He moves forward and puts his hands together in meditation. Then he starts firebending, his arms and hands moving in quick, precise motions. Her chest constricts and she feels a slight spasm of fear. He's a firebender. Her grandfather sent her to protect a firebender. The crazy boy was right. And Spirits, she sent him to the Dai Li for telling the _truth_. She's upset because she doesn't understand why firebenders are here in the city or why her grandfather is friends with one of them. Or maybe her grandfather doesn't know. Yes, that sounds more plausible. He wouldn't willingly protect firebenders—not after what happened to her mother.

"Okay, now you can look," he says.

She opens her eyes and tries to feign amazement. "Oh…wow…what happened? How did they light? What did you…"

And okay, so maybe she isn't really pretending. He lit all of the lamps in record time and with perfect accuracy. It's actually kind of impressive. Whoever he is, he's an extremely powerful and skilled bender. And it's kind of sweet of him, to do this for her. She looks at him from the corner of her eyes and in spite of herself, she's happy that he's finally smiling.

She doesn't know why she grabs his hand. She really shouldn't have. He's a firebender, hiding in the city, probably having some sort of secret agenda to destroy Ba Sing Se. But—a small voice at the back of her head says—he and his uncle are not hurting anybody. She's been in the teashop for weeks, observing them, protecting them—they just want a new life like everyone else.

She doesn't know when they started facing each other or when they started drawing closer to each other. She thinks that maybe she should take a step back because she can't do something as stupid as kissing him without verifying if he and his uncle are really dangerous or not.

But she wants to kiss him. She's crazy for even thinking about it and she's thankful when Lee stops them by holding a tea coupon out.

She smiles at Lee and takes the tea coupon. She should really tell Lee that she needs to go right now. Stop this before she does something idiotic.

Instead, she stupidly tells him to close his eyes.

She doesn't know what she's thinking when she leans forward and presses a chaste kiss on his lips. She's a little surprised when he kisses her back and despite herself, she smiles against his lips.

When he abruptly pulls back and runs away, she watches him go and she thinks of only two things. One, she can't believe that he actually just left her here without properly saying goodbye. Two, she has just kissed one of the conquerors of her people.

She thinks that she should feel guiltier than this but she doesn't.

* * *

"You're home early," her grandfather says as soon as she enters the house. He's in the living room eating a rice cake, an extremely thick scroll in his hand.

She ignores his question and rushes towards him. "Gramps, Lee and Mushi…you're not going to believe this but…Lee…and Mushi…they're _firebenders_!"

Her grandfather sits up. "What? How did you find out?"

"Lee…his nephew…he firebent for me in the fountain—''

"You went to the fountain?! Did he _try _anything—''

"What? No—''

"Pah! Don't lie to me! I know what you teenagers _do_ there at the fountain. You forget that your mother was a teenager once," her grandfather says, with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "Why'd you bring him there in the first place!?"

"Mushi told me to show him around Ba Sing Se and that's what I did. Look, I don't—''

Her grandfather ignores her and he starts muttering under his breath. From his garbled speech, Jin can make out, "Idiot….it takes us forever to smuggle them in here….and he just messes it up…I need to talk to Iroh about this…"

"Um…hello? Gramps, are you still here?" Jin says as she waves a hand in front of him.

Her grandfather slaps her hand away and irately says, "Did anybody see him? Did you at least make sure that no one was watching him?"

"Gramps, are you serious!? That's your main concern!? Grandpa, they're _firebenders_!" Jin says as she wrings her hands for emphasis.

Her grandfather sighs and calmly takes a bite out of his rice cake. "Of course, they are."

"So, I was thinking…they're pretty harmless but we have to be sure right? What should we do? Should we ask around—wait, what? You knew…that they were firebenders…this _whole time_?" Jin says, thoroughly appalled.

Her grandfather rolls his eyes. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

"But…but…" Jin struggles to get the words out. Finally, she manages to reign in her shock. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it was none of your business," he retorts. After a few seconds, he adds, "And I knew that you would react like this."

"React like what?"

"React like the whole world is ending. Spirits, calm down will you?"

"What are you talking about!? I'm calm!" Jin defensively says. Her grandfather looks at her disbelievingly. She sighs, places her hands on her hips and demands "Wait a second. How are you even friends with firebenders!?"

Her grandfather shrugs. "We met each other in the Siege of Ba Sing Se."

"The Siege of Ba Sing Se? So…you met each other and became friends…while trying to kill each other? And this doesn't bother you at all—''

"Look, what does it matter how we became friends?!" Her grandfather explodes. He gives her a pointed glare. "Did you do what you were supposed to do or what?!"

"Well, yeah. I showed him around and tried to show him a good time. I don't think I succeeded in the showing-him-a-good-time part though."

"Whatever. Are you sure no one was watching the two of you?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Good. Now I want you to water the ferns tomorrow. They're getting a little dry—''

"But, wait, I don't get it. If he fought during the Siege then why is he here…"

"Silly girl, stop asking so many questions! Just go on and do as I say!" her grandfather grumpily says.

Jin frowns at him but she doesn't leave him alone. She folds her arms and says, slightly worried, "So…them being here in Ba Sing Se…it's not a problem right?"

Instead of giving her another annoyed retort, her grandfather looks at her seriously, "I know you may not understand why we're protecting them right now, Jinny."

She smiles a little when she hears him call her 'Jinny.' It's a nickname he rarely calls her.

"But someday, I promise that you will. Not now, though. You need to see the world first. Finish schooling. Learn a couple of things. Gain a bit wisdom. Grow older, more mature, more cultured. I'll tell you someday but not now."

He then returns to his scroll and irately adds, "And that's that. Deal with it."

Jin sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. She nods her head and mutters a quick goodnight to him before heading towards her room. Before she leaves, she stops by the edge of the hallway and looks at her grandfather. In a quiet, hesitant voice, she asks, "But doesn't it bother you that they're like the people who—''

"I already told you. They're good people," her grandfather says with a tone of finality.

Jin isn't really convinced but her grandfather is a smart man and he is never wrong. So, she nods her head and hurries towards her room without saying another word.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Jinny is pronounced "Jenny." Anyways, Iroh playing matchmaker has a really good explanation. When I first saw Zuko's segment in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" my first thought was that Iroh hired Jin to show his nephew a good time xD Granted, after re-watching the episode, I realized that it was obviously not the case. Jin was just a simple, normal girl who liked Zuko. Still, it's nice to speculate and the idea that Iroh is somehow behind Jin asking Zuko out is fun to think about.

_To answer TheDivines' question_: Yes, she will be initiated to the White Lotus eventually. Key word is _eventually_ :)

_For those who reviewed_: Thank you so much. You have no idea how much your input means to me. Please don't stop telling me what you think of the story.

(Flames are always welcome as long as they make me laugh ;))

_For my ghost-readers (those who read the story but didn't review, follow or add it to their favorites)_: Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I really appreciate it. :D

Hope you guys liked this chapter. I will be uploading the next chapter by next week.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

* * *

She's in the middle of a card game with her little brother when someone knocks on their front door.

Ro pouts, annoyed that their game is interrupted. Jin tells him to wait for a moment before wrenching the door open. She stiffens when she sees that it is a Dai Li agent. A handful of other agents are right behind him, their heads bowed and their mouths set into thin lines. Jin flinches when their leader looks down at her with a predatory smile.

Jin quickly maintains her calm. She bows and says in a respectful tone, "Good morning."

"Good morning," He smoothly says. He draws a slip of paper out of from his sleeve and hands it to her.

Jin takes it and her smile disappears when she sees what is written on it. "A search warrant?"

"Yes. Now, if you can please step aside so we can search your house—''

"Wait, why would you need to search our house? What is this about?" Jin demands as she folds her arms.

The Dai Li agent smiles at her patronizingly. He leans closer towards her and it takes all of Jin's restraint to keep herself from taking a step backwards. He says, "It's nothing, miss. We just want to verify a few reports we have received about your grandfather."

"I think that those reports are mistaken," Jin calmly tells them. "My grandfather is an old man. He owns a gardening shop. We're simple people."

The Dai Li agent gives an exasperated sigh and glares at her. "Listen here, miss, we don't want any trouble—''

"Jin! Who's at the door!?" her grandfather barks as he strides into the living room. Before Jin can respond, the Dai Li agent elbows her out of the way and rudely steps into their house. Her grandfather's eyes widen but he quickly schools his features into an expression of indifference. Ro continues to play with his cards, oblivious of the tense air enveloping the room.

"We'd just like to look around your home, if you don't mind," the Dai Li agent tells her grandfather.

"Yes, I do mind." Her grandfather's grey-green eyes sweep over the Dai Li agent's features in suspicion. Finally, he slowly nods his head and reluctantly says, "But I suppose there's nothing I can do about it. Hiroki, Jin, step outside please. Let's not get in their way."

Jin wants to protest but the look in her grandfather's eyes is clearly telling her that all she really needs to do right now is to shut up. She reluctantly steps outside and into the front porch as her grandfather hauls her brother up by his armpits and carries him outside. All of their workers and servants follow afterwards, many of them sporting terrified and confused looks. Her brother finally seems to realize that something is wrong because he stops talking and complaining about his interrupted game. Instead, he draws closer towards Jin and tightly clutches her hand.

They all don't say anything as they listen to the sounds of tables being upturned and drawers being opened. She looks at her grandfather from the corner of her eyes and sees that despite his calm demeanor, his fingers are clenched and his brows are furrowed.

Finally, all of the Dai Li agents troop outside. Her grandfather snidely remarks, "Well, I suppose you're all done with demolishing my house."

"Actually, if you don't mind, we would like to look at your greenhouse and garden," their leader says.

Jin rolls her eyes and folds her arms. "Oh, of course we don't mind. Just go on and ruin our plants as well."

Their leader frowns at her and she just responds with a small smile. They all troop towards the greenhouse and in several, quick, efficient movements they begin to empty pots and uproot flowers. Her grandfather's jaw tightens and a worried expression crosses his face. Ro squeezes her hand tighter and Jin gently pats him on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Finally, they all stop and walk outside. They arrange themselves into a neat line with their leader in front of them. He gives a bow and says, "Thank you for your patience, sir."

Her grandfather doesn't say anything. Instead, he just stiffly nods his head and glares at them as they leave. As soon as they are gone, her grandfather turns to the servants and workers and waspishly snaps, "Well!? What are you waiting for? Go clean the mess they made up!"

The servants all quickly scurry away. Her grandfather gently grabs Ro's trembling hand and calls Niang over. He tells her, "Go and make him something to eat. Calm him, down, will you!?"

"Yes, sir," Niang says with a small bow. She touches Ro's shoulder and slowly leads him towards the house. "Come on, Ro. Let's go eat some cake…"

"And where are you going?" her grandfather demands as she makes her way past him.

"To the house to help them clean up and—hey!"

He grabs her by the elbow and starts dragging her towards the greenhouse. "Come on. We need to check out the damages they've done to my plants."

Jin's face falls when she sees the insides of the greenhouse. Several of the pots and vases have been smashed broken. Flowers have been trampled on and a few plants have toppled over. She looks at her grandfather and is surprised to see that instead of being annoyed or upset, he looks relieved. That's strange—if there's one thing her grandfather loves, more than anything else in the world, it's his plants. She figures that he would have been much more devastated or furious to discover that his beloved garden has been completely ruined.

He strides over towards a corner of the greenhouse, his face screwed in concentration.

"Um…gramps?"

"Shh!" he says. He's looking for something, she realizes. She's about to ask another question when he stops and loudly says, "You can come out now, Hui."

Jin raises a brow. "Hui?"

The ground beneath her suddenly shakes and she stumbles backwards when something emerges from the bed of peonies in a spray of rocks and dirt. Her eyes widen when she sees that it is an old man—he is thin with a stooped back and a long, stringy beard. Her grandfather calmly helps her up before going towards the man and helping him clean off the dirt from his robes.

Jin blinks at the two of them. "There's…there's a man…hiding in our peonies."

"Well, where did you want him to hide? If it were anywhere else, the Dai Li would have found him by now," her grandfather irately retorts. He gives the man a good pat on the shoulder and says, "That was a close call, Hui."

Hui nods his head. "Really close. Sorry about your peonies."

Her grandfather dismissively waves his hand. "Pah! Jin can always re-grow them."

"Wait!" Jin says, finally snapping out of her shocked stupor. "So…you were actually hiding someone? This…whole time?"

"Yes, I was! Weren't you paying attention!?" her grandfather snaps. He pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales loudly. "We'll have to move the meeting somewhere else now that the Dai Li are suspicious."

"Meeting…what meeting?" Jin asks.

"It's a meeting for our Pai Sho club, of course," Hui nonchalantly tells her as he flicks a flower petal off his shoulder. He grins at her, showing a row of several missing teeth.

The only thing that Jin can really say is, "Of course."

"Who's she, Luong? Your daughter?" Hui asks.

Her grandfather shakes his head and Jin catches the sad, wistful look in his eyes. "No. My granddaughter."

"Ah," Hui says. He gives her an impressed look. "You're taking this rather well."

Jin smiles at him weakly. "Well, stranger things have happened around gramps."

Hui jerks a thumb at her. "Is she an initiate?"

Her grandfather briefly looks at her before saying, "No. Not yet."

"Initiate? Wait…what?" Jin finally manages to regain her composure. She draws towards the two of them and demands, "Grandpa, what is he doing here? Why is he hiding in our flower beds? What is…so the Dai Li…they were right and—''

Her grandfather holds a hand up. "Stop talking."

Jin promptly shuts her mouth. Her grandfather looks vaguely annoyed while Hui just watches the two of them, an amused smile on his face. Her grandfather impatiently explains, "He's here because we need to smuggle him out of Ba Sing Se. He ran into some trouble with the Dai Li."

"You want to smuggle him out of Ba Sing Se?" Jin repeats.

"Do your ears need cleaning!? I thought I made it perfectly clear! Yes, we're going to be smuggling him out of Ba Sing Se!" her grandfather says as he flings his arms into the air. Hui bursts out into laughter.

"_We?_ What do you mean 'we'?" Jin demands.

"I have an important meeting this evening so you will have to be the one to bring Hui to the Agriculture district. He'll be hiding in one of our larger flower pots while you'll be driving. When you're there, a man will be waiting for you at the station. He'll take it from there," her grandfather says.

At first, Jin figures that he's messing around. But upon closer inspection of his facial expression, she realizes that he is most definitely, being very serious.

"But…but how will I get pass the guards or the Dai Li?" she sputters.

In response, her grandfather takes a thick stack of papers out from his sleeve and hands it to her. "Just show them these and you shouldn't have any trouble."

Her frown grows deeper as she scans through each slip of paper. "Gramps…these are _forged_ papers."

Her grandfather snorts. "Of course they are."

She looks at him, her eyes narrowed in slight suspicion. "Are you a part of some sort of secret underground crime ring?"

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous." He then places an arm around Hui and says, "You can clean yourself up in our house. And you should eat as well. The trip to the Agriculture district will not be comfortable, especially since you'll be in a flower pot. Jin, go and ready yourself."

"But—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as I say!" her grandfather says. He makes a dramatic gesture with his hands. "We can't afford to waste any time! I've got a lot of things to do! I still have to contact everyone and tell them that the Pai Sho tournament will have to be moved somewhere else!"

"I suggest the Lower Ring. The Dai Li's presence isn't as oppressive there," Hui says as the two of them walk out of the greenhouse. Jin stares after them, thoroughly confused.

"Oh and…thanks by the way," Hui tells her before they leave.

"Sure. No problem." Jin manages a weak smile as she tries to wrap her mind around what just happened.

* * *

It is late in the evening and his uncle and his friends are still up playing Pai Sho. Zuko sighs and rubs his head when he hears loud laughter coming from his uncle's room. He just wishes that they would hurry up and finish their game—he wants to sleep. He and his uncle share a room and Iroh had kicked him out and made him stay in the living room when all of his friends arrived; something about him not being an initiate.

Someone knocks on the door and Zuko loudly scowls before answering it.

His eyes widen when he sees that it is Jin. He suddenly feels nervous. Their date last night was disastrous and the lie he told her about being in the circus was so absurd that he feels so embarrassed whenever he thinks about it. And the catastrophe at the fountain was the worst—he is still kicking himself for kissing her back. She went back to the teashop to use her coupon today but she didn't really talk to him and he tried to avoid her by hiding in the back room.

He thinks that she may be mad at him but he isn't sure.

Jin stares at him with the same shocked expression. "Lee?"

"Oh, hi Jin. Um…what are you doing here?" he nervously sputters.

Jin folds her arms and quirks a brow. With a smirk, she says, "I could say the same for you _Mr. Cut-And-Run_."

Zuko winces. "This is our apartment. And, listen, about last night…"

"This is your apartment?" Jin says in surprise. She peers over his shoulder and examines their living room. Zuko suddenly feels embarrassed. Their apartment unit isn't much. Their living room is also where their stove and dining table are and everything they own is weather-beaten and old. They don't even have their own bathroom. They have to share a common washroom with the rest of the floor.

"Um…yeah…I'm sorry what are you doing here again?" Zuko asks her, completely confused at Jin's presence in his apartment. He frowns when a thought suddenly crosses his mind. "Wait…did you follow me here?"

Jin snorts. "I'm not stalking you if that's what you're worried about. I was doing something for my grandpa and he told me to meet up with him at this address. He told me that he would be here because he had a Pai Sho tournament or something. I didn't realize that this was your home."

"Oh." Zuko sheepishly rubs the back of his head. The two of them awkwardly stand there, in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Zuko takes a step back and awkwardly gestures for her to step inside. "Right. Come in. You're going to have to wait for awhile. They haven't finished their game and they don't want to be disturbed."

She nods her head. "Okay."

Jin tentatively takes a step inside. Zuko tells her to take a seat and Jin does so, while he nervously stands in the corner and twiddles his thumbs. She doesn't say anything. Instead, she looks around their living room with a critical gaze; it's almost as if she's looking for something. Her nose twitches and she keeps drumming her fingers against her thighs.

Zuko decides that maybe he should say something.

"So…" he hesitantly begins. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine."She folds her arms and smirks at him. "I'm still waiting for my apology, though."

"Um…what?"

"For being such a rude jerk last night," she states with a shrug. "You still haven't apologized."

Oh, so she really is mad at him.

He suddenly starts panicking as he tries to think of a decent apology. It was pretty rude and ungentlemanly of him to just leave her there without properly saying goodbye or offering to walk her home. He wasn't exactly very pleasant throughout their entire dinner, either. He sputters, "Look, Jin, I'm sorry about…about last night. I shouldn't have left you there…and it's just that…I haven't tried doing stuff like that and well—''

Jin suddenly bursts out into laughter. Zuko glares at her, annoyed. Can't she see that he's trying to apologize?

She shakes her head and laughingly says, "_Relax._ I'm just kidding."

Zuko blinks at her and hesitantly says, "So…you're not mad at me?"

"No," Jin says. Her lips quirk into a huge smile and she shrugs. "Well, maybe just a _little_. Leaving me in the fountain without so much as a goodbye was a pretty ungentlemanly thing for you to do."

Zuko gives her a sheepish look. "Yeah. Sorry…about that."

Jin just grins at him and leans back against the couch. Zuko smiles at her weakly, happy that she isn't upset. A silence stretches between the two of them, punctuated every now and then, by loud, raucous laughter coming from his uncle's room.

It is Jin who speaks first. "What's taking them so long? It's almost curfew."

Zuko shrugs. "They've been at it for more than two hours by now."

After a few moments, he decides to attempt in starting a conversation. He says, "I never knew that your grandfather and my uncle were friends."

Jin looks at him in contemplation, as if she's trying to figure something out. He suddenly feels uncomfortable but then she giggles and says, "Yeah. Apparently, they're part of some sort of super secret Pai Sho club."

He finds his lips involuntarily curling into a smile. "Yeah, they wouldn't even let me in. Something about not being an initiate. Whatever that means."

Jin nods her in understanding. "Tell me about it. I can't even count the times my grandfather shut me out of his room so he can hang out with his friends because I'm not an initiate."

Zuko chuckles in spite of himself. He looks at her questioningly and asks, "Do you play?"

"Hm?"

"Pai Sho," he quickly clarifies.

"Yes, but I'm not very good." Jin shrugs. "I don't get the game. I think it's kind of pointless."

Zuko smirks at her and shakes his head. "Don't let my uncle hear you say that. The man is crazy about Pai Sho almost as much as he's crazy about his tea."

Jin taps her chest with her index finger and says with a small laugh, "Same here. Although you should be thankful that your uncle is pleasant. My grandfather is a firecracker when you say or do something that gets him mad."

"No, kidding," Zuko says.

He's about to say something else when the door of their room slides open. Several old men and women troop out, many of them clapping each other in the back or shaking hands. Zuko thinks that it's sort of amazing, actually, that they've only been here for a month and already his uncle has made a lot of friends. He wishes that he is that sociable. He estimates them to be about fifteen all in all and it still baffles him how they all managed to fit into his and his uncle's tiny bedroom.

When his uncle sees Jin, he quickly gravitates towards her and they both start talking. His uncle asks Jin about their date and he is relieved when Jin cheerfully responds that she had a good time. He's sure that she's lying for his benefit but at least his uncle won't be lecturing him about how to properly treat a lady.

A tall man with a white beard, hooked nose and grey-green eyes approaches them. Zuko figures that the man must be Jin's grandfather. Her grandfather jabs her in the shoulder and says, "Did you do it?"

Jin smirks at her grandfather and says, "Well, hello to you too, gramps."

Her grandfather rolls his eyes and stamps his foot. He impatiently demands, "Did you do it? Did you deliver the _package_?"

Jin nods her head. "Yeah. Went through the whole thing without a hitch. How's your Pai Sho game?"

His uncle loudly laughs and her grandfather dismissively waves a hand, "It was okay."

"You lost a lot of money then," Jin says with a small smirk.

"Pah! Whatever! Do you have the cart ready?" her grandfather demands.

Jin nods her head. "Yup. We're good to go. And I only had to wait for three hours."

Her grandfather ignores her and bows at his uncle. "Thank you for having us, Mushi."

"You are most welcome," his uncle says with a small bow of his head. He jabs Zuko on the arm and says, "Where are your manners, Junior? Say goodbye to our guests."

Jin giggles and mouths 'Junior?' while Zuko winces. He bows and says, "Goodbye, sir."

Jin's grandfather gruffly says goodbye while Jin starts walking backwards with her hands clasped behind her back. Zuko is suddenly afraid of the mischievous look she has on her face.

She waves her hand and loudly calls out, "Goodbye, Junior!"

Zuko weakly grins at her before turning around to face his laughing uncle and giving him one of his fierce glares. Agni, the man can never be content with leaving him alone.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_To answer TheDivines' question: Yes, she is an earthbender. I think that I mentioned it in passing in the 13th paragraph of part 2 in the second chapter. :)_

_Thank you for the reviews. Please keep on reviewing. As usual, the next chapter will be posted by around next week. _


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

* * *

Jin tries to pat away at the dust and dirt on her sleeves as she takes a seat in her usual table. Her muscles feel raw and her skin feels hot and sticky from sweat. She is sure that she looks terrible—her fingers are caked with dirt and her hair is twisted into a messy bun. Coming over to the teashop is the last thing that she wants to do right now but her grandfather had insisted and she isn't about to spend the rest of the day arguing with the man.

"Hey."

Jin looks up and sees that it is Lee, holding a teacup in his hands. Despite herself, the corners of her mouth quirk upwards into a huge smile. "Hey, _Junior_."

He scowls and she flinches.

She's still a bit uncomfortable around him. It's nothing really—it's just that the last time she saw a firebender this close, things did not end well. But Lee is kind and sweet and she figures that if her grandfather can trust him and his uncle, then she can too.

"You okay?" he asks her as she pays for her tea.

He looks unsure of himself, as if he's trying to stop himself from saying something stupid.

Jin smiles at him. "Yeah, just had a rough day at work."

"Work?" Lee looks at her with a raised brow. "I didn't know you worked."

"Um…what?"

"Well…it's just that you're always here and well…I assumed that…" Lee awkwardly sputters.

"What? I'm not allowed to enjoy a relaxing cup of tea during my break?" Jin defensively retorts. And okay, she's a little (a lot) embarrassed. She wants to tell him that the real reason why she keeps coming here is because her grandfather wants her to "protect" him and his uncle. But her grandfather had explicitly stated that he doesn't want her to tell him (something about Mushi's nephew being unaware) and he'll probably think she's crazy for working so hard to protect a complete stranger so it's not as if she can do anything about it. Spirits, Lee probably thinks that she's some sort of stalker.

"No it's just that well…" Lee straightens up as he regains his composure. "I just don't think that you should be slacking off on your work. It's irresponsible."

Jin places a hand in front of her mouth as she tries to hide a giggle. "_Irresponsible_? You sound like my grandfather."

Lee glares at her, annoyed. "I'm just saying that you should be focused on your job. I mean, a lot of things could happen while you're not manning your shop! Your goods could get stolen or someone could break in or—''

"_Relax._ I work in my grandfather's gardening shop." Jin folds her arms and smirks at him. "I'm pretty sure no one will be interested in stealing a bouquet of petunias or a bunch of bamboo shoots."

"You're too easy going."

"And you are wound up way too tight. _Relax."_

"I am not wound up too tight."

This makes her laugh. Lee scowls at her and he crosses his arms in annoyance. She tells him, "You are. You take everything way too seriously. You should learn how to let go and just relax."

"I know how to relax," Lee defensively says.

Jin smirks at him and patronizingly says, "Sure you do."

He is glaring at her and she can't find it in herself to stop grinning at him. He looks silly when he's angry or trying to be intimidating.

"Hey!" Jin snaps her fingers together and grins. "I know a great way for you to relax!"

"I don't need to—''

"You wanna check out my brother's earth soccer game with me?" Jin asks. She thinks that Lee seriously needs to have some fun every once in awhile. She knows that he's adjusting and trying to build a new life in Ba Sing Se but he can't do it if he always shuts himself off. If she's going to waste her time "protecting" him, they might as well do something fun.

"Earth soccer?"

"It's a game where you use earthbending to—''

"I know what it is!" Lee interrupts.

As usual, Jin ignores his outburst and remains unaffected. She continues, "Today's their championship game. His earthbending school's team, the Ba Sing Se Badgermoles are playing against another school, the Fighting Cliffs Tigerdillos."

He looks at her in nervous contemplation.

Jin bites the insides of her cheek and her nose starts twitching. She looks hesitant, nervous even. "But only if you want to. If you don't want to come then you don't really have to..."

"I want to," Lee blurts out.

She looks at him, slightly shocked because she honestly thought that he would say no. She claps her hands together and says, "Great! Are you sure Pao won't mind?"

He shrugs, "There aren't much customers. Pao is out getting a snack and my uncle is in the back room making his new tea blend."

Jin grabs him by the wrist as she stands up. "Come on. If we hurry, we can still get a good spot."

Lee nearly trips as Jin surges forward and drags him off.

* * *

The soccer field is wide and oval-shaped with rising tiers of seats enclosing it. (Secretly, Zuko wonders how it managed to fit into the already extremely cluttered Lower Ring.) The first three rows are occupied by only a few people while the rest of the rows are completely filled. There is a divide in the audience, he notices. On one side are seats full of snobby-looking men and women wearing lavish clothing; he figures that they must be people coming from the Upper and Middle Rings (although he has no idea why they would want to come here just to watch a stupid earth soccer game in the first place). On the opposite side are people he sees everyday—grubby and tired-looking refugees from the Lower Ring.

"Why is nobody else sitting here?" Zuko asks as he and Jin take a seat in the front row.

A rock whistles past his head, nearly grazing him in the eye.

"Oh. This is why." He turns to look at Jin and he scowls at her when he sees the smirk on her face. "I think we should transfer."

"Transfer where? The seats are full." She leans closer towards him and raises a taunting brow. "Scared?"

"No. Just smart," Zuko grumbles as he crosses his arms. "It's not my life's ambition to get crushed by rocks."

"Stop whining," she says as she lightly jabs him in the arm. "The game is almost over anyway. We've reached the last part of it."

Zuko irately grunts and looks at the field. "Which one is your brother?"

"Over there." She leans forward and points at a kid in the corner, about eight or nine years old, his feet and arms wide in an earthbending stance. He shares Jin's round face, small, delicate nose, and bright, wide smile. His hair is spiky and wild and held in place with an improperly placed topknot. His eyes are grey-green and they carry the same mischievous look Jin has. Zuko's eyes widen however when he sees the large, angry red scars spiraling her brother's right leg.

"Fire Nation branding whips," he says out loud before he can stop himself. He recognizes the mark of the fire-whips used by raiders to brand earthbenders.

Jin looks away and her fingers clench. Her eyes are suddenly filled with an emotion—sadness? regret? fear? anger?—that he can't decipher. In a strained voice, she says, "There was nothing I could do."

Feeling uncomfortable, Zuko looks away and tries to focus on the game.

One of the boys wearing a bright green uniform with the words 'Tigerdillo' stitched on it is kicking at the ball and attempting to weave past a couple of boys wearing brown uniforms with a picture of a Badgermole sown on the front of their shirts. The boy pauses when he realizes that he is trapped and after a few seconds of silent contemplation, he slams his foot against the ground. A rock spire rises from the floor and propels the ball forward.

Jin's little brother sprints and blocks a Tigerdillo. He uses an earthbending move to push the ball towards the net.

The goalie stretches upwards in an attempt to catch it. The ball sails past his head. The game is over and the Badgermoles have won. Jin stands up and cheers with everyone else.

He is the first one to break the silence between them.

"Your brother's a pretty good earthbender," he says as soon as Jin finishes whooping and hollering and sits down.

"Yeah, he's one of the best in his class," she says. He hears veiled pride in her voice.

And just like that, the tense air between them is gone. They both grin at each other.

"Jin! Jin!" He looks up and sees Jin's little brother hurtling towards them.

Jin nearly staggers backwards as her little brother springs forward and tackles her into a warm bear hug. The soccer ball he is holding rolls to the ground.

"Hey," Jin says as she ruffles his hair and picks the ball up. His topknot is askew and his uniform is caked with mud and dirt. "Great game."

Her brother repeatedly pokes her in the arm and says in an excited rush, "Did you see that last move? You should've seen the look on their faces when the ball went into the net—''

He suddenly stops. He looks at Zuko and gives him a curious look. "— who's he?"

"My name's Lee. I came with your sister to watch your game," Zuko says.

Her little brother narrows his eyes against him in scrutiny. "Are you my sister's boyfriend or something?"

"She is not my girlfriend!" he instinctively half-yells. The two of them respond to his outburst by blankly staring at him. He sputters, embarrassed, "What I mean to say is—um—I mean, er, I'm—''

"He's just my friend," Jin quickly interrupts. Zuko sends her a grateful look.

"Sure," her little brother disbelievingly says. He looks at Zuko again and holds his hand out. He confidently says, "My name's Hiroki. But everyone calls me Ro."

Zuko takes his hand and gives it a firm shake. "Nice meeting you."

After a moment's pause, he adds, "Nice bending out there."

"Thanks," Ro beams. He looks at the left side of Zuko's face. "Nice scar."

"Um—''

"I have one too," he says as he gestures at his right leg. He looks at his scars as if it is something to be proud of.

"Ro!" Jin's tone is reproving. She looks up and flashes Zuko an embarrassed smile. She apologetically says, "I'm sorry. He just blurts things out all the time."

Zuko shakes his head and hastily says in a strained voice, "Oh no, it's alright. I don't mind."

He_ does_ mind but it's not as if he can say anything about it without sounding like an idiot or a jerk.

"Well, we better get going," Jin says, noting his discomfited expression. She puts a hand on Ro's shoulder.

"Yeah." Zuko awkwardly runs a hand through his hair. "So...I guess I'll see you tomorrow—''

"Hey, maybe Lee wants to come with us," Ro suddenly pipes up. Jin opens her mouth to say something but Ro interrupts her, "Don't worry. I already told Pin's mom that I'll be going home with you."

Jin shakes her head. "I don't think so. Lee has a job. And he has better things to do—''

"Where are you going exactly?" Zuko interrupts, curious.

"We're going to this hill to look at the stars. It sounds kind of lame but it's actually pretty fun." Ro's smile widens, showing his dimples and several missing gaps of his front teeth. He wiggles another loose tooth as he says, "You get the best view of Ba Sing Se too. The city looks really pretty in the evening with all the lights."

"I'll go." Zuko nods. His uncle won't mind—the shop is never busy in the evening anyway.

"Let's go!" Ro grabs him and Jin by the wrist and starts leading the two of them forward. Jin's little brother is energetic and he bounds ahead of them in quick, lithe steps. He is suddenly reminded of how Jin practically dragged him to the Firelight Fountain during their disastrous date.

"Hey, Lee," Ro pipes up.

"Um, yeah?"

"I was just wondering..." He looks hesitant for a few seconds but then he says in a much more confident voice. "Did you get your scar from the..._war_?"

He says the word "war" in a whisper.

Jin frowns at her little brother. "Ro, don't talk about—"

"It's okay. I got my scars from the war too," Ro says in a comforting voice. He reaches up and pats Zuko on the arm. Zuko looks up and catches the sad expression on Jin's face.

Zuko stumbles over his words. "Oh, that's...um—''

"I bet you beat that firebender who gave it to you real bad, huh? You seem like the kind of guy who would," Ro babbles on, completely ignoring his sister. "You seem like one of those tough guys in those stories Jin always reads to me."

He looks at Zuko in slight awe and reverence.

"Yeah." His hand subconsciously rises to his face.

He doesn't look at Jin or her brother. They make him feel so disingenuous and guilty.

* * *

"Look at that. It's a pair of catgators killing each other for a scrap of meat."

"Those look nothing like catgators."

"Um, yeah. They do. The long stringy things...those are their barbells."

"And what's that blob at the side?"

"The blood oozing from their skins."

"Ew. You're so gross."

"S'not my fault you're squeamish."

"That one looks like a flower."

"I think it's more of a cloud."

"Ro, they're all clouds. That's what we're staring at."

"Well, fine. But it's not a flower. It's a tree."

"No way. The trunk is too slender. It's a flower."

"You're out of your mind."

"And you can't see very well."

"Shut up, Jin."

"You shut up."

Zuko is squatting from behind Jin and Ro, leaning against a tree. They are both lying in the grass, trying to find shapes in the clouds of the night sky. Honestly, he thinks it's kind of pointless and stupid but Jin and her brother seem to enjoy it and regard it as a revered activity so he doesn't really say anything. He doesn't join them as well, because he feels like that would be intruding somehow.

He stares at Jin and her little brother as they bicker. It's a little strange, watching them tease and playfully argue with each other, like normal siblings. He and Azula hadn't had this kind of interaction in a really long time. He feels a slight spasm of jealousy as he looks at them—he envies Jin a little, for having good relationship with her younger sibling.

Ro suddenly sits up and looks at him. "Hey, Lee. What do you think that cloud looks like?"

Just so he can annoy Jin, he says, "A tree."

Ro sticks his tongue out at Jin. She scowls and shoots Zuko a glare. She sarcastically says, "Thanks, Lee. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome."

Jin huffs at him before turning back at her little brother to give him a pointed look. "I don't care what Lee says. It's still a flower."

Ro makes an earthbending gesture and a rock pillar explodes from underneath Jin, causing her to jolt and stumble forward. Ro snickers, "Whatever. I'm still right."

"Ugh! You're so—_ugh_!" Jin stands up and lunges for her brother. Ro ducks and easily scrambles away. Jin scowls at him and waves her clenched fist in the air. "Yeah, you better keep running! I'll kill you!"

Zuko can't help but think that if he did that to Azula, she probably would _really_ kill him.

Jin sits next to him and sighs as her brother continues to roll down the hill, shrieking taunts and laughing. "Little siblings. Can't live with them, eh?"

"Don't I know it," Zuko mutters.

"You have a little sibling?" Jin asks.

"Yeah." He pauses and his fingers clench when an image of Azula flashes in his mind. "A little sister."

"Oh. Where is she?" she asks, carefully, as if she's afraid that the question will spark some sort of unhinged emotion from Zuko.

But she doesn't have to worry because he feels nothing. He feels nothing for Azula. Nothing but anger and hate.

"I don't know." His voice comes out with a harsh edge. "And I don't care."

Jin frowns at him. "Seriously?"

"She's evil," Zuko says, his fingers clenching.

"Ro can be pretty evil too." The two of them train their eyes on Ro who is kicking at the ball and moving it around with earthbending at the bottom of the hill. "You should see all the stupid stunts he always pulls on me. He also makes it a point to show off his earthbending prowess every single day. Getting chucked with rocks and gross, questionable objects is a normal occurrence."

She doesn't seem as mad as she lets on though. There's this smile on her face that won't really go away.

"He can be annoying and arrogant and mean sometimes. Some days, I'm so mad at him that I feel like I really, really hate him. But then, he smiles and his dimples show and he does something nice and cute or he starts crying when he has nightmares and he tells me that he needs me and I wonder how I can ever even hate him." She looks at him from the corner of her eyes. "Family is like that. You can never hate them, no matter how much they've hurt you."

He wishes that he is like Jin. He desperately wishes that he could feel for Azula the same way Jin feels for her brother.

But he doesn't.

"You don't get it," he snaps. What does she know? Ro is just being harmlessly annoying, the way most little brothers are. She doesn't know the things that Azula has put him through.

"You're right. I don't," she quietly says.

They fall silent and instead the two of them look at the city. Ro is right—it is beautiful with its bright lights glowing in the dark. Zuko has never seen a city this big or magnificent; not even the Fire Nation Capital is remotely similar to Ba Sing Se. It is an entirely different thing on its own.

""Do you do this often?" Zuko says in an effort to make the conversation light again.

"Yeah." A small, subtle smile spreads across her face. "My mom and I used to do this all the time."

"Used to?" Zuko says before he can stop himself.

Wistful longing fills her eyes. The words come out of her mouth in a strangled choke. "She…um…died with my dad when the Fire Nation razed our village."

"Oh." An uncomfortable feeling settles in his stomach. He looks at her and sincerely tells her, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault," Jin says in a soft voice.

But it is his fault.

He wants to do something—_anything_—to make her smile again. Anything to make it better. He edges closer towards her, meaning to say something comforting, but instead, he says, "My mom and I used to feed turtle ducks together."

Stupid. What is he saying? How is this making the situation any better?

He doesn't know why he's doing this, giving her a little piece of himself.

"Used to?" Jin says, her eyes sad.

"She's gone." He doesn't elaborate. Jin doesn't ask him to. He gratefully looks at her.

"I'm sorry," she sincerely says. Jin leans against him and he stiffens.

She takes his hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. He doesn't pull his hand away, like he is supposed to, like he _should_. Instead, he laces his fingers with hers.

"I know it must be hard for you. It was hard for me and my little brother too after…after _it_ happened," she says. He catches the way her eyes briefly slip to the scar on his face. "But you're here now. You're here in Ba Sing Se and you're safe and you can have a new life. And that's all that really matters, right?"

No, that's not all that really matters. Capturing the Avatar matters. Earning his father's love and respect matters. Going home matters.

How can Jin just say that?

He steals a look at Jin. She looks really, really pretty, he grudgingly admits. Her eyes are wide and beautiful in the dimming light and the corners of her mouth are creased into a smile that warms something deep inside him.

Why is he here? What is he doing? He asks himself for the thousandth time.

He doesn't have an answer. And he doesn't really care.

He relaxes against her and lies, "Yeah."


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

* * *

Zuko thinks that he really should stop spending so much time with Jin. It's so stupid because he's lying to her and he isn't doing a very good job at keeping his cover. He always slips up and says something that he isn't supposed to be saying. He goes through a lot of trouble to be an anonymous Earth Kingdom peasant—he doesn't know why he's jeopardizing his and his uncle's safety by hanging out with Jin every day.

But she doesn't seem to notice whenever he says something that might remotely blow his cover. A part of him is hoping that Jin still thinks that he's part of a travelling circus but he honestly thinks that she isn't stupid enough to believe that. Jin is smart. He knows because she will be studying in the University this fall (although he doesn't understand how someone from the Lower Ring managed to get a slot) and she's the one in charge of keeping the books for her grandfather's shop.

Another part of him thinks that she knows he's a firebender but that scenario seems completely impossible. He's the son of the man who ordered all those firebenders to kill her parents and permanently scar her little brother. He's pretty sure that she wouldn't be here, right now, walking next to him and happily chattering, if she knows. She'd probably try to kill him instead.

He doesn't know why he's doing this, spending time with her. He should cut off all ties with her, push her away, shut her out.

But he likes spending time with her and he's too much of an idiot to stop it.

"So what will you be studying in the University?" Zuko asks her as they stop by a stall full of books.

"Political Science," Jin says as she takes a scroll and fingers it.

"You want to get into politics?" Zuko says, disbelievingly.

Jin glares at him and raises a brow. She states, "You don't believe me."

Zuko shrugs. "Never figured you for a politician."

An uncharacteristically serious look crosses Jin's face. She pulls him closer and lowers her voice, "I want to make some changes around here. I mean, the city is nice and all, but everyone here is so…so clueless about _everything_. Even the war. And the Earth King is no better. I want to make people more aware about certain issues. Maybe get better housing for all the refugees. Send help in the war effort."

Zuko frowns at her. He worriedly says, "Don't talk like that. The Dai Li might hear you."

"Pfft." Jin dismissively waves her hand. "I can handle myself."

Zuko scoffs and folds his arms. She pokes him on the arm and says, "Hey, don't underestimate me. I'm a pretty awesome earthbender. Bet I could take you, Mr. Tough Guy."

"You earthbend?" he says, slightly shocked. He feels a little stunned although he can't imagine why knowing that Jin can fight shocks him so much.

"My dad's an earthbender. He used to teach me forms and stuff. We used to always practice in this field..." Her voice suddenly sounds strained. "But then...you know...um...stuff happened. And then there was the war so we had to move. Now my grandpa teaches me. He's a lousy teacher but eh, he's okay I guess. I've been trained how to fight since I was this high..."

She gestures at her hip.

Great. She's perfectly capable of smashing him with rocks if she ever finds out that he's a firebender, Zuko sourly thinks.

"So…what about you?"

He nervously sputters, "Oh, I can't fight or anything…I mean I'm pretty normal—''

"Yeah, I could tell by the way you fought with those swords," Jin says with a smirk.

He tries to hide the pride in his voice. "You saw that?"

"You weren't exactly being very discreet," she giggles. Zuko's lips quirk upwards into a smile. She looks at him from the corner of her eyes and continues, "So, what's next for you? Planning to take over Ba Sing Se one teashop at a time?"

Zuko sighs and looks away. He's a little jealous that Jin has her whole future mapped out and she knows exactly what she wants. He doesn't know what he wants. He doesn't even know what he's doing half the time. He's stuck here in Ba Sing Se, working as a tea server and living in a tiny, smelly apartment. He's reduced to nothing now and he suddenly, irrationally feels so pathetic.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll just stay in Pao's teashop forever, serving tea and getting spit on by customers," he grumpily says.

"Customers spit on you?" Jin says, her brow raised.

"There's this gross old man who always spits his tea all over me. I swear, I think he had mouth disease," Zuko mumbles in disgust.

"Ew," she says as she wrinkles her nose. He opens his mouth to respond but before he can say anything else, she gingerly touches his wrist and says in a serious tone, "But seriously. There's nothing wrong with wanting a future here in Ba Sing Se."

Zuko folds his arms and says nothing. Wanting a future here in Ba Sing Se means giving up and accepting that he will never go home. He can't give up. He needs to go home. He needs to prove himself worthy to his father. He doesn't need to think about his future here in Ba Sing Se because his stay here is _temporary_.

"I mean, when my parents…died…I really wanted things to be just like the way they were. It was hard coming here to Ba Sing Se and adjusting to life with my grandpa and stuff." She starts drumming her fingers against her thighs. "But that part of my life was over and I can't get it back anymore. I know that starting over is hard but if you do that and embrace it and accept it, then I'm sure that you'll be very happy here."

"Yeah, maybe," he mutters under his breath as he mulls over what Jin had just said.

* * *

Her job of "protecting" Lee and his uncle really isn't all that bad. It's a great way for her to get away from the gardening shop and all the snooty, demanding customers she constantly has to deal with. And even though she's still a bit nervous around him since he is a firebender and all, she genuinely enjoys his company and looks forward to spending time with him.

They're standing at the back row as they watch a street theatre play. Lee has this wistful, almost nostalgic look on his face. Jin wonders what he could possibly be thinking about. The play itself is ridiculous and the actors are terrible but she's glad that he at least looks happy—his lips are curled into one of his rare smiles that reach his eyes.

Jin nudges him in the elbow. He looks at her with an irritated expression on his face, as if he is annoyed that she interrupted him during a particularly important part of the play. He frowns, "What?"

"Nothing." Jin shrugs and gives him a small smile. "I just thought that you were absolutely incapable of smiling."

Lee snorts and turns his attention back to the play. He irately says, "I'm trying to watch."

"Watch what? The play is atrocious and the actors are all terrible," Jin says with a small giggle. The plays they put up in the University and the Upper Ring theatre are much better even though they mostly revolve around the Earth King and how Avatar Kyoshi created the Dai Li. It is blatant propaganda by the government but it's still entertaining nonetheless.

Lee's kernel of a smile grows wider. He shrugs, "I don't know. It just…reminded me of stuff I guess. When I was a kid my mom used to take me to see this play every year. The actors were terrible but she loved the play all the same."

"When you were a kid?" Jin looks at him and quirks her brow. "But you are still _technically_ a kid. You sound as if you're already a really old man."

A crease appears between Lee's brows. "I don't know. I guess maybe I didn't get a chance to be a kid for a really long time."

She turns to the side to look at him. His skin is dry, his muscles are taut and he has the worn-out look in his eyes that every refugee carries. Her eyes sweep over the angry scar on his left face. She wonders, not for the first time, what he must have gone through. Who gave that scar to him. A firebender obviously did it. She suddenly feels very sorry for him. The scar must be all the more painful with the knowledge that one of his countrymen gave it to him. It's no small wonder why he had to grow up fast.

Just because he's a firebender, she realizes, does not mean he is immune to the effects of the war. She's a little disappointed actually, to know that even people from the Fire Nation are affected. It makes it so much harder to blame them for everything that's wrong in her life.

Still, she wonders why Lee and his uncle are in Ba Sing Se in the first place. Maybe they are deserters or traitors or on the run from the Fire Nation. Maybe they are criminals who have been banished.

She wonders, not for the first time, how her grandfather got himself mixed up with firebending criminals or deserters in the first place.

He looks at her with a small, awkward look on his face. He kicks at the ground with his foot and mumbles, "Actually…um…if you don't mind can we stay here to finish the play?"

Jin smiles at him. "Sure."

Lee relaxes and looks down at her with the happiest, most peaceful smile she had ever seen.

* * *

Jin really likes walking, he notices. During his breaks, they usually spend the time walking around the streets. Sometimes, they would go window shopping in the bazaars. He often gets the impression that she doesn't go to the Lower Ring that often which is weird because he figures that someone who lived there for most of their life wouldn't be amazed at the fact that people barely flinch when someone gets mugged in broad daylight or that rats and wormroaches freely roam the streets and scurry around people's feet. She's also unfamiliar with most of the places and genuinely seems shocked to know that he shares a bathroom with three other families.

Maybe her grandfather and her and her brother actually have an apartment unit with their own bathroom. Maybe they are better off compared to most refugees. Jin always looks nice and clean and her clothes don't have the distinct back-alley smell that every refugee carries.

He tries to steer her clear off any of the alleyways. While he's perfectly capable of protecting himself, he isn't so sure about Jin. He knows that she can defend herself but he's never actually seen her fight and one can never be too sure. His uncle tells him that he is concerned because he likes her but that's not true. _Not true at all_. He's just doing what anyone with a sense of chivalry would do. It's not as if he actually enjoys spending time with her or anything like that.

And honestly, he doesn't think that he wants Jin to see that side of himself. He doesn't want her to see what he can do in a fight—knowing the right amount of hits and jabs just to decapacitate a person is not something he's comfortable with showing her. It's weird because he has no trouble showing that side of himself to virtually everyone he meets. He has no idea why she is the only exception.

They're in the middle of searching through some scrolls when it suddenly begins to rain lightly. Zuko looks up and curses when he sees the darkening sky overhead. Jin continues on with looking through the scrolls as if nothing is happening.

Zuko pinches her on the arm and says, "Hey. We have to get out of here. It's raining."

She frowns at him, as if she's annoyed that he had disturbed her reading. He grabs her hand and says, "Come on. We need to get to shelter."

Before she can say anything, he pulls her forward and they start walking. When it starts raining harder, he breaks into a sprint. He turns to look back and he is thoroughly annoyed when he sees that Jin isn't making any effort to move any faster at all. If anything, she's walking slower with her arms spread out. It's almost as if she's enjoying being soaked wet.

"Hurry up, will you?" Zuko irately tells her as he comes to a grinding halt. A bit of mud splashes against his pants.

Jin joins him and laughs, "Calm down. I'm here."

They continue to walk all throughout the Lower Ring, trying to find somewhere with a decent roof. They try going into a noodle shop but the owner sends them away, saying that he doesn't want to house people who won't buy his food. Zuko yells at him before grabbing Jin's hand and leading her outside again.

They finally settle for an awning situated outside a tailor's shop. The awning is small so they are standing extremely close towards each other. A wave of embarrassment washes over him when he realizes that he and Jin are only inches apart. Jin, however, as usual seems unaffected and nonchalant at their close proximity.

Zuko exhales loudly and gives an annoyed sigh. Without meaning to, a puff of steam escapes from his mouth. For a moment, he is terrified that she has noticed but when he catches the expression on her face, he is relieved to see that she is more concerned with observing the rain.

"Great. Now, we're stuck here until the rain lightens up," Zuko grumbles.

"Calm down. It's not the end of the world," she laughingly says.

He folds his arms and glares at her. "If you hadn't been so slow, we would've made it to the teashop."

She suddenly looks away and for a moment, Zuko thinks that she is mad at him. But then, she looks at him again and there is this small, apologetic smile on her lips. "I'm sorry about being slow. It's just that…it's just that I thought that it would be fun, you know? I love the rain."

He blinks once at her. She gives a small, embarrassed laugh. "You think I'm weird."

Zuko's lips tug upwards into a small smirk. "Yeah, that is a little weird."

She playfully swats him on the arm and he shakes his head and laughs. She sighs and suddenly begins to move her arms around in several dramatic gestures. "It's just that I'm sort of sick and tired of people complaining about the rain. I mean, whenever it rains everyone thinks that it's bad luck and that nothing can ever turn right again. It's so crazy!"

He chuckles and gestures at his soaked clothes. "Well, I don't think that people are all too excited about getting soaked."

She crosses her arms and pouts. "I just wish that they would take time to appreciate it. Rain is nice and cleansing and it's _life_. Plants wouldn't grow if there was no rain. In fact, plants love the rain. You know what? I think that I may be a plant in another life."

He smirks at her and teasingly pokes her in the arm. "Well, you are a vegetable-brain."

Jin ignores him and she stretches her arm out, way past the shelter of the awning. The raindrops fall on her palm like rivulets and a small, subtle smile spreads on her lips. "If the Fire Nation had its way, rain would be illegal."

He winces a little, because what Jin had said is most probably true. She suddenly looks at him apologetically although he doesn't know why. He looks away and quietly murmurs, "Yeah."

It takes him a long time to notice that Jin is shivering. She's got her arms wrapped around her, her teeth are chattering and she is shaking violently. Her side bangs are flattened against her face and her ponytail is soaked.

"You need to get warm." He holds his arms out to her a little awkwardly. "Um, you mind if I…"

Jin weakly smiles at him and nods her head. "Sure."

She steps forward and Zuko tries to be nonchalant as he places his arms around her and holds her. It's moments like these when he wishes he could just firebend. Instead, he concentrates on pooling all of his body heat onto his skin so he can share some of his warmth with Jin.

He wishes that they aren't standing so close to each other because it's distracting him. Due to the cramped arrangements of the awning, he and Jin are pressed so close together that the small hairs on his arms and back are standing. The tip of her nose almost touches his and he can make out the little gold flecks that dot her bright green eyes.

Her eyes are really pretty, he realizes. How did he not notice that before?

He uncomfortably shifts in his place. The space between them is small, so small that their faces will touch if he takes a half-step forward. He has the sudden urge to close the distance between them.

Jin suddenly pulls her hand away from Zuko's grasp and begins to fix her hair. Her fingers deftly smooth over the stray locks and she starts pinning them in place.

"You missed one." Before he can stop himself, his hand reaches out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Her hair is soft and smooth against his fingers. His cheeks burn and he oddly feels embarrassed. _What is he doing?_ "Here."

"Oh, thanks," Jin says, oblivious to his reddening face. She pins the lock of hair in place before saying, "Hey…um…thanks for keeping me warm."

"No problem," he says.

If anyone is to see this right now, they will totally get the wrong impression about this relationship. Because it's not a relationship. They're just friends.

Still, Zuko is having a lot of trouble convincing himself of that as he draws closer towards her. He thinks that maybe he should draw the line and take a step backwards or something but if he does that then he will get soaked and he doesn't really want that either.

Suddenly the rain lightens up to a soft patter. Jin looks up and she grins at him. She takes a step outside of the awning and says, "Looks like the rain is about to stop. You want to make a dash for the teashop?"

He grins back at her. "We could always walk. Since you are secretly a plant after all."

"Oh, shut up Lee," Jin laughingly says as they move forward.

Their eyes lock for a second and it scares him (and yes, it really, really scares him) because he figures that if there's anyone in the world that can figure him out, even when he and his uncle can't, it's going to be her.

And really, she's the last person he wants knowing anything about him.


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

* * *

Jin drums her fingers against her thighs as she stares at the Pai Sho board. From across her, her grandfather glares at her, a frown on his lips and an impatient look in his eyes. He begins stroking his beard and his bushy, white eyebrows dip downwards as he waits for her to make her move. Finally, he slams his hand against the table and snaps, "Well, hurry up will you? We haven't got all day!"

"All right! All right! Sheesh, calm down. I'll make my move," Jin says as she holds her hands up in surrender.

Her hand moves to grab the rose tile but her grandfather slaps her hand away. He throws his hands up in the air in frustration and angrily says, "Spirits, have you learned nothing!?"

"Hey! I was making my move!" she protests.

"Putting the rose tile there leaves your defenses in ruins!? How many times have I told you to always make sure to have proper defenses!?" He dramatically slams his hand against his forehead. "Pah! I didn't raise you to be a dunce!"

Jin gives him a small smile. "You know what? Why don't you concentrate on your tiles and I'll concentrate on mine?"

Her grandfather quirks a brow and holds up a bag filled with coins. "I'm just trying to keep you from losing ten gold coins!"

"I won't lose," she serenely responds.

"You will if you place that rose tile there!" He folds his arms. "How can you still be so horrible at Pai Sho after playing it for all these years!?"

Jin rolls her eyes. "Gramps, relax. It's just a game."

Her grandfather's face immediately turns into an unflattering shade of purple. His brows dip even further downward and his fingers grip against the table so tightly Jin is afraid that he will break it. She's never seen him this angry before and she has no idea what she has done wrong.

"Don't ever say that again! Pai Sho is not just a game!" he explodes.

Jin blinks once at him. She quickly says as she attempts to appease her grandfather, "Okay. Okay, I get it. Pai Sho is not just a game."

Spirits, she had no idea how sensitive old men can be towards this game.

Her grandfather calms down considerably but his face is still drawn in an extremely serious expression. He leans forward and sternly says, "Do not dismiss Pai Sho so easily. It is more than just a game. It is very important for you to learn, understand and master the subtleties of Pai Sho. You will find that the game can open many doors for you. Do you understand?"

What her grandfather had just said was confusing and mysterious and she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. But he sounded so serious that Jin finds herself believing him. She solemnly nods her head.

"Yes," she manages.

Her grandfather gives her a satisfied nod. "Good. Now we will sit here until you make the right move."

"Um…what?"

"Do your ears need cleaning!? I thought I made it perfectly clear! We won't leave this room until you make the right move!"

"So, we won't move on with the game until you decide that the move I will make is the right one?" Jin says, her eyes widening. "And you're not going to help me at all?"

"Of course I will! If you touch the wrong tile then I will inform you," her grandfather replies.

"But can't you just tell me which tile I should move so we could finish the game?"

Her grandfather gives off a small growl. "And how are you supposed to learn if I just feed you the answers!? Now shut up and think so you can make the right move! And hurry up! We still have to go to Dr. Shu's party!"

"We're going to his party?" Jin frowns at him. "But you hate parties."

Her grandfather nods his head. "Of course I do. But we need to go because Quon will be there and I need you to charm him into sponsoring Mushi a new teashop here in the Upper Ring."

Now, Jin is _really_ confused, "Um…what?"

He impatiently sighs, as if the entire situation is so obvious that she is an idiot for not getting it right away. "Mushi is a good friend of ours and we feel sorry that he has to be stuck in the Lower Ring. He's a Grand Lotus and he doesn't deserve to live there. He's obviously miserable there. He doesn't even have his own bathroom! We have to figure out a way to get him here in the Upper Ring. I wanted to forge them new identities and papers and smuggle them in but Dr. Shu thought that it was too elaborate and dangerous. So we decided to go with something simpler."

"We? Who's 'we'? And what's a Grand Lotus? And why would you go through all that trouble—''

"Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking!" He sighs and shakes his head. "Anyways, Dr. Shu decided to throw a party. He hired Pao and Mushi and Lee to serve tea for the night. He invited Quon—''

"But you and Dr. Shu hate Quon—''

"—so he can taste the tea and you can go and talk to him about Mushi. It shouldn't be too hard. Quon's an idiot. Just make him think that he could have a monopoly on the tea business or whatever and say that Mushi's the best man for his new venture. And his son really likes you so all you have to do is be extra-nice to him to get him to agree," her grandfather says.

"Why do I have to do it!? I hate talking with Quon. He's creepy. And Cheng is nice and all but—''

"Because neither I nor Dr. Shu has the patience to deal with that imbecile! And you're good with talking to people! Why do you think I let you deal with all our idiotic customers!?" He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Besides, don't you want Mushi's nephew Jee—''

"_Lee_—''

"—to be closer to you? You'll certainly save up on fare if he lives here. Protecting him and Mushi will be easier that way," he says as he laces his fingers and stares at her expectantly.

Jin's cheeks redden at the mention of Lee. "Well, yeah but—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as you're told!" he waspishly says. He folds his arms and says with a tone of finality, "You're talking to Quon and that's that. Deal with it."

Jin sighs and gives him a small, resigned smile.

* * *

"Would it kill you to smile!?" Pao hisses as he jabs Zuko in the arm.

Zuko scowls and glares at him. They are at a party in the Upper Ring, serving tea. One of their customers from the Upper Ring, Dr. Shu a professor from the University, was so impressed with their tea that he had hired them for his party tonight. Pao had wasted no time in calling Zuko and Iroh over and telling them how important this event was to his career as a teashop owner (and how he'll fire both of them if they mess it up in anyway).

Zuko hates it here.

The party is very similar to the parties he had attended back in the Fire Nation court. The men are all pretentious and social-climbing and they spend most of their time attempting to impress each other by talking about how terribly important their jobs and positions are. A couple of them, much to Zuko's fury, give him condescending looks as he serves them their tea. The women are all vapid and unattractive, their faces smeared with too much make-up, and they are all mostly concerned with showing off their dresses, gossiping loudly with each other and debating about whose husband or father is richer. A few girls giggle at him as he hands them their teacups and much to Pao's annoyance, instead of a pleasant smile, Zuko responds with a crease of his brow and a scowl on his face.

"Lee…be nice to all our potential customers," Pao says through gritted teeth. The look in his eyes tells Zuko that he isn't messing around.

Zuko forces a smile out.

Pao nods his head, satisfied. "Good. Now keep it up. If we do well with this, we might be serving more rich customers in the future."

Zuko tersely nods and watches Pao as he hands a high-ranking bureaucrat his tea.

"Hey!" Pao suddenly elbows him in the ribs.

"What!?"Zuko irately snaps.

"Isn't that your girlfriend?" Pao whispers.

"What girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend. You know…_Jin_."

"What? What are you talking about—''

"I think that it is her! _Look!" _Pao grabs him and cocks his head to the left.

Zuko frowns and follows his line of vision.

"It does look like her but…but…it can't be her, right? She lives in the Lower Ring," Zuko says. At least he _thinks _that she lives in the Lower Ring.

"It _is_ her!" Pao hisses as he violently shakes Zuko.

Pao is right, Zuko miserably admits.

It is Jin.

But she looks different.

The dress she is wearing is more elegant and elaborate than the simple robes she normally wears. It is deep green with gold trimmings fashioned into intricate designs and patterns. Her normally wild hair is tamed—her choppy bangs are pinned back, her long, dark hair is pulled into a tight bun and an elaborate hairpiece adorned with fresh flowers sits on her head. At least, much to Zuko's relief, she isn't wearing any make-up.

Near the buffet table, he can see her grandfather and her little brother, happily absorbed in sampling all of the chicken mini-pies.

Jin is talking to a tall man wearing lavish robes and several tacky necklaces and rings. Next to him is a boy who he figures is the man's son. He is tall with dark brown hair braided into a queue and kind, brown eyes obscured by a pair of spectacles. He can tell that she isn't really paying attention. She keeps nodding her head but her eyes are wandering around the place with mild disinterest.

"Spirits! We've been serving a noblewoman this whole time! You never told me that your girlfriend was from the Upper Ring!" Pao says.

"She is not my girlfriend!"Zuko retorts as he ducks his head and attempts to turn around.

He can't believe it. Jin, the same Jin who went to the teashop every day in a simple and ratty robe, is a member of high class Earth Kingdom society. He can't wrap his mind around it. But that certainly explains a lot of things—how she doesn't know her way around the Lower Ring, how she's educated and can afford to attend the University, how she manages to afford spending all her money on ridiculous amounts of tea.

He feels embarrassed. And ridiculous. He doesn't want Jin to see him like this, wearing an apron and serving tea at this stupid party. He wonders why she still hangs out with him. They clearly don't run in the same social circles.

He feels like a fool, thinking that she was a poor refugee like him and his uncle and everyone else. He clenches his jaw. Anger quickly overtakes his embarrassment. Why didn't she tell him?

The older man gestures at the dance floor and gives a short bow before leaving Jin and the younger man alone. The younger man holds his hand out and Jin gives an uncomfortable smile before taking it. He leads her towards the dance floor where they begin to dance.

A nasty feeling suddenly starts circulating at the pit of his stomach and his hands ball into fists. Even though he is perfectly aware that it is improper decorum to interrupt a dance, he starts stomping towards Jin. Pao's eyes widen and he calls after Zuko, "Hey, wait—Lee! What are you doing!? Get back here right now!"

As he draws closer, he is finally able to catch a fragment of their conversation.

"...his view on social order in terms of Geopolitics and Geoculture is fascinating, don't you think?" the boy says, his eyes shining behind his spectacles.

Jin sheepishly smiles at him. She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and says, in an almost apologetic tone, "I actually thought that he kind of sounded obnoxious."

"His phrasing has little left to be desired, I agree. But the core content of his essay is very thought-provoking," the boy says. An eager look crosses his face. "You would appreciate it better if you read some supplementary materials. I have a couple of other essays, one by Chancellor Chen Baisha and another by Lu Rong."

"Oh, that's really sweet, Cheng, but um...I don't think I have the time to read all those things. I still have my job and—''

"Ah, yes. You work in your grandfather's shop. Of course. How stupid of me to forget." An awkward, dopey smile crosses his face. "My apologies."

Jin laughingly shakes her head. "You don't have to."

"Tea?" Zuko gruffly interrupts. Cheng jumps slightly, finally aware of Zuko's presence and Jin stiffens.

"Ah, yes. I would like some oolong please," Cheng pleasantly says.

Zuko glowers at him and the young man shrinks back under Zuko's angry glare. Jin is immediately aware of the tension between the two boys and her eyes dart back and forth between Zuko and Cheng

"Hey, Jin," Zuko says when no one says anything for a long time. "Will it be Jasmine? As '_usual'_?"

He doesn't why he made it a point to emphasize the word "usual".

"I'm sorry but do I know you…" Cheng says as he regains his composure.

"No. But I do know Jin. I know her very well actually," Zuko snaps as he meets Jin's eyes.

"Oh, I see. You must be one of her grandfather's workers or servants," Cheng politely tells him.

Zuko narrows his eyes at Cheng as he stiffly says, "I'm not."

"Oh." Cheng's eyes widen as if he suddenly realizes something. He looks at Jin before looking at Zuko and then looking back at Jin again. A look of disappointment flickers across his face. He clumsily bows to Zuko and apologetically says, "I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that Jin had a boyfriend. I mean of course, even though her grandfather's standing in the Upper Ring society is rather less-than-impressive, I didn't expect that she would actually be okay with interacting with a waiter—"

"Oh no. He's not my boyfriend," Jin quickly tells him. Zuko's jaw tightens and his frown grows deeper. Is she embarrassed of him?

"Oh, really?" Cheng says an annoyingly happy expression on his face. Zuko doesn't know why he suddenly feels so irritated at Cheng's ecstatic disposition.

"Yeah. He's just a really good friend of mine," Jin explains.

"Ah." Cheng turns to face Zuko and he holds a hand out. "My name is Cheng. I was Jin's classmate back in secondary school. My father is a very prominent businessman in the Upper Ring. I'm not sure if you've heard of him but—''

"I haven't," Zuko shortly interrupts. He grabs Cheng's hand and gives it a perhaps, too-firm shake. Cheng winces at Zuko's grip and Zuko tries to hide the look of satisfaction on his face. "My name's Lee. I'm a...um—''

Even though his uniform probably gives it away, teashop waiter sounds irritatingly degrading and humiliating compared to son of a fancy, rich business owner. If he were still a prince, he probably wouldn't be feeling this upset over something as trivial as a title. But he isn't a prince anymore. He's just Lee, teashop waiter from the Lower Ring.

"His uncle owns a teashop. In the Lower Ring," Jin quickly supplies. Zuko stares at her and raises a brow at her blatant lie. She sends him a small smile and shrugs. "Best tea-brewer in all of Ba Sing Se. Which is why I think that you and your dad should consider hiring him when you get into the tea business."

Cheng nods at her. "The tea is certainly amazing."

He gives Zuko a small smile. "Did you brew this?"

Zuko knows that Cheng is only trying to make polite conversation but it still makes him feel angry and inferior nonetheless.

"No, I didn't," he snaps. From behind Cheng, Jin sends him a look of disapproval.

Cheng's eyes widen at Zuko's irate reaction. Zuko looks away and gruffly scowls. Another stretch of awkward silence passes between the three of them.

"Okay." Jin claps her hands together and a nervous smile spreads across her face. Zuko can tell that she's trying to break the tension in the air. "You know what? Actually, I feel like drinking some tea. Me and Lee will just go over there to get some tea—''

Cheng frowns at her. "But he has a tray full of tea right here—''

"I'll be back in a minute with your oolong tea!" Jin says before he can finish. She grabs Zuko by the wrist and drags him off. He follows her as she leads him out of the party and into the garden. He can see a lot of the guests whispering amongst themselves and staring at them. Obviously, Jin dragging a tea-server off into some dark, secluded garden is scandalous but at that point he hardly cares.

"Hey," Jin says, frowning a little when she catches the expression on his face. He can tell that she's trying to lighten the situation up with small talk. "Nice party, huh?"

Instead of greeting her back like a normal person, his eyes train on Cheng's figure. He snaps, "Look at him. He thinks he's so great."

He looks at Jin from the corner of his eye and says, "You like him, don't you?"

"He's okay," Jin shrugs. "I mean, he talks way too much and he's kind of an arrogant jerk at times but he's a nice enough guy. He isn't as snobby as half the people in my classes."

"I don't like him," he irately mutters as they start moving forward. "I think he's shady. You shouldn't trust him. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who is up to anything decent or respectable."

Jin laughs and stares at him incredulously. "What are you talking about? Cheng is a perfectly nice guy."

"Oh, so you do like him?" The words fly out of Zuko's mouth in an angry half-yell.

"What?! What are you talking about!?" Jin's normally calm and unperturbed voice sounds octaves higher and they are laced with slight annoyance.

"Oh, please! Come off it! It's so obvious that you have some sort of stupid crush on him!"

"Excuse me? I do not have a crush on him! And why do you care anyway?!" Her mouth is creased into an irritated frown and her brows dip downwards. "You know what!? Maybe, I _do_ like him. At least he's nice and polite! Unlike you!"

"I'm nice and polite!"

"No, you're not! You're so...so...so _angry!_ And rude! And impatient! _Every single time!_ Polite people don't act the way you've just acted towards Cheng! Especially at a party!" She shoots him a fierce glare. "I know that you've been through a lot of stuff but so have I and I don't use it as an excuse to act like an angry jerk all the time!"

"You've been through a lot?" He harshly, mockingly laughs. He catches the flash of hurt in her eyes and immediately, he regrets what he has just done. He tries to be composed as he says, "Well, my life hasn't been easy, either. I've been through _everything_."

"That still doesn't excuse the way you've been acting," she firmly responds. He can tell that she is struggling to keep her voice calm.

"So, I'm supposed to act like you, then? I'm supposed to act like everything in the world is fine and bright and dandy and oh, so wonderful even when it's clearly _not_!" he explodes, his temper now fully unleashed. "Everything's just one big joke to you, isn't it?"

"I just think that it wouldn't hurt if you relaxed every once in a while," Jin says in a calmer voice. Under her breath, she mutters, "It probably wouldn't kill you to smile or laugh on occasion either."

"Yeah, well at least, unlike _someone_, I actually take things seriously," he snaps. He points an accusing finger at her. "At least I was honest with you! You didn't tell me that you were from the Upper Ring!"

"Only because you never asked!" Jin retorts. "And why does it matter anyway, that I'm from the Upper Ring?"

"It doesn't," Zuko stiffly says. He should really shut up and stop talking right now. He really shouldn't be arguing with her over something so stupid and pointless, late in the evening, in the garden of a party he is serving tea at. But he inexplicably feels angry towards her and he can't find it in himself to control his irritation.

"You know what Lee—just ugh!" She exasperatedly exhales and turns around as she starts stomping towards the house again. "Let's just go back to the party."

A tense silence unfolds between them.

Jin keeps walking ahead of him, not really giving him a chance to catch up. Zuko walks a few steps behind her, his head down and his mouth stretched into a tight, thin line. He isn't exactly sure what set him off in the first place but he decides that Jin is right and that he is being angry over nothing. He looks up and looks at her. She is drumming her fingers against her thighs.

He has never seen her this angry before. It's unsettling and it makes him feel terrible.

He should apologize.

Or at least attempt to fix things. He doesn't want her to be upset and he really doesn't want them to be mad at each other for too long.

"Hey." He lightly touches her wrist and she stops.

"So...we ran out of Jasmine tea, today," he says in an attempt to make things light between them again.

"Oh," Jin says. She still doesn't look at him and her voice is still thick with tension.

"I probably won't be able to serve you Jasmine tomorrow. What would you like instead?" Zuko says.

"Green tea probably. Although I won't stay for long tomorrow. I have to do something," she says. Her head turns a fraction of an inch towards him and he can see a small smile playing on her lips. He inwardly sighs, relieved that a little of the friction between them has disappeared.

He allows himself to smile and the two of them grin at each other.

"Oh. What do you have to do?"

"I have to meet up with Cheng tomorrow afternoon."

The smile completely disappears from his face.

"Tomorrow afternoon?" He can't stop the amount of venom that fills his voice.

"I'm helping him out for his research paper. He's studying plants," Jin explains, completely oblivious of the livid expression on Zuko's face.

"Oh. Plants. Right." He doesn't know why his mouth won't stop talking. "So where are you going to help him do this research paper of his?"

He doesn't know why he really needs to know either.

"In the library. But we're thinking of doing it at his house. He has reading materials in his room that aren't in the library," Jin says. She tiredly sighs. "Look, I don't really want to go but my grandfather needs me to do this thing—''

"That sounds absolutely great. Doing research work together. _Alone_. Reading a bunch of books together. _Alone_. Being in his room together. _Alone_. Just the two of you. With no one else. Yeah. Sounds like fun times," Zuko says as he mockingly imitates the usual mannerisms of Jin's perky demeanour.

"Hey." She turns to the side and faces him, her hands on her hips and her eyes glaring at him with pronounced anger. "What is your problem?"

"My problem?! I don't have a problem!"

"Then why are you acting like this?!" Jin demands.

"Acting like what?!"

"Acting like...like _this!"_ She gestures at him. The two of them stare at each other, both of their eyes filled with unbridled fury. She looks calm and she says the words evenly enough, but he can still hear the anger in her voice. "You're acting like a total prick because you're jealous of Cheng."

"What! No! I'm not jealous! That's ridiculous!"

No, he isn't jealous. He isn't jealous that Cheng is richer than him, that Cheng isn't a firebender hiding a secret, that Cheng gets to spend a lot of time with Jin alone, that Cheng and Jin seem to get along with each other, really, _really_ well, that Cheng is just a perfectly normal citizen of Ba Sing Se who can probably give Jin a nice and stable relationship. Nope, he isn't jealous. He isn't jealous at all.

"Pfft. You are jealous," she scoffs. She stomps towards him and jabs a finger at his chest. "You like me but you don't want to do anything about it. And somehow, you think that I'm obligated to not date other guys and wait around and pine after you!"

"That's not true. I don't like you. I'm just looking out for you!" he defensively retorts.

"Well, I don't need you to look out for me because—as you so considerately phrased it several times, Sir Tactful—I'm not your girlfriend!" she snaps.

"Well, fine! Then I won't!"

"Then don't!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Before he can react or say anything else, Jin walks forward, back to where the party is.

"Hey—wait! Where are you going?!" he says, his eyes growing wide as he watches her retreating figure.

"I'm going back to the party!" Jin yells over her shoulder.

He should apologize to her. He was out of line and he said a lot of stupid things to her when she didn't really do anything to him at all. But then he remembers that she is going to hang out with Cheng (alone) to do research (or whatever else it is they will do) and his anger and resentment come back in full force.

"Go have fun with your new boyfriend!" he bitingly yells at her.

"Whatever, Lee!" she angrily yells back.

He sighs, instantly regretting what he said. He stands there and watches as she opens the sliding door and storms back into the party. When she is gone, he sighs and quickly follows after her, back into the party. When Pao and his uncle pester him with questions, he doesn't say anything. He ignores her for the rest of the night and focuses on serving tea to the guests.

Zuko thinks—no, he is _certain_—that Jin won't be coming back to the teashop after tonight. Well, fine. He doesn't care. At least he no longer has to constantly check himself as he talks to her. He's glad that she won't be going back to the teashop. He's perfectly happy that she is now, currently, out of his life.

It's what he wants. Really. It is.

He doesn't know why he feels so upset.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_To answer readme-silly's question_: In my fic, Jin's parents were killed by the Fire Nation so that's why she's still a bit iffy towards Zuko and firebenders in general.

Thank you for the reviews! Please don't stop telling me what you think of the story. :)


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

* * *

She doesn't come back the next day.

Not that he cares.

It is already late in the afternoon.

Zuko stops wiping the counter and looks upwards, his eyes traveling towards the table where Jin usually sits.

It is empty.

He growls, slams the rag he is holding unto the table and begins wiping the counter in an angry fashion. Pao and his uncle pause from their conversation to look at him, his uncle with a bemused expression on his face and Pao with a disapproving frown on his lips.

"The pot of Jasmine tea is getting cold," Iroh remarks as he takes the teapot in his hands and opens the lid to peer at its contents. He gives his nephew a meaningful look. "Jin should've been here by now."

Zuko snorts and looks away. Pao rests his chin above his hands as he stares at Jin's usual table and confidently says, "She comes by late sometimes because of work. I'm sure that she'll be here by the evening."

Zuko tries to ignore the little surge of hope that swells from within his chest when Pao says that.

The day continues on quickly.

A group of men from the Terra Team come to the shop to order rounds and rounds of ginseng tea. Someone named Tycho comes over a few minutes later and Zuko learns that he is another friend of his uncle—apparently they met when Tycho tried to mug Iroh. Tycho tells his uncle that he has finally become a masseuse and Iroh invites him over for a celebratory cup of tea. His uncle starts flirting with a bunch of old ladies (much to Zuko's disgust) by telling his favorite tea joke.

Eventually, the hour before curfew comes. The three of them wait for the last of the customers to clear out before wiping all the tables and chairs for one last time. Pao counts the sales in the moneybox. Iroh stacks all the cups and pots back into the cabinets. Zuko makes the inventory report after he pushes all the tables and chairs to the sides. Pao quickly shuts all the windows when he finishes counting the money and Zuko and Iroh take both of their aprons off.

Finally, they step outside, lock the door and place a "closed" sign over the doorknob.

She doesn't come back at all.

* * *

She doesn't go back to the teashop the next day.

Not that she cares.

It is already late in the afternoon.

Jin is in the middle of attacking the weeds in the tomato patch with her sickle when her grandfather comes stomping into the garden, his bushy brows dipped downwards in fury. He stops in front of her and folds his arms. Jin sighs and ignores as him as she continues to focus on her task of removing all of the weeds.

"What are you doing here!?" her grandfather hisses.

Jin briefly looks up at him. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm weeding the tomato patch."

Her grandfather stomps his foot and glares at her. "You are supposed to be in the teashop protecting Mushi and his nephew!"

"Can't make it. I have to go to Cheng's place in a few minutes." She gives him a small, kernel of a smile. "I still have to work on convincing him to convince his dad to sponsor a new teashop for Mushi."

"Oh. Good." Her grandfather relaxes. "I guess you can afford to slack off for a day. Oh, by the way, I need you to give something to Mushi for me when you go back tomorrow—''

Jin stops hacking at the weeds and looks up at him. She loudly exhales and says, "Look, can you find someone else to do it?"

"What are you yammering about!? Why would I do that when I have you!?" he demands.

"Because I'm not going there tomorrow. In fact, I'm never going back there," Jin responds.

"What!? Why not!?" He narrows his eyes in suspicion. "Did something happen between you and Yee—''

"_Lee_—''

"I saw you go outside during the party. Did you two have a fight or something—''

"We didn't have a fight! We're not even friends!" Her voice raises octaves higher as she throws her hands up in the air. "Spirits, just drop it will you?"

Her grandfather folds his arms and stares at her. There is confusion in his eyes and she can tell that he's trying to figure something out. His lips tighten into a line and he doesn't say anything for a long time. Jin just continues to hack at the weeds.

Finally, in an annoyed tone, he says, "Look, I have no idea why you are acting like an immature twit, but this better not be about a boy. Your mother did same thing, worrying over some boy and look where it got her. And you know how I don't want you—''

"Spirits, Gramps! I'm just sick of drinking tea every day, okay?" Jin snaps. She sighs and tiredly says, "Look, I can't do everything. You want me to convince Quon to sponsor Mushi. You want me to protect Lee and Mushi. Does everything revolve around them? I mean, what are they anyway? Royalty?"

An amused smile appears on her grandfather's face. "You'd be surprised."

"I just don't want to go, okay?" She looks at him in the eyes and gives him a firm, steely gaze. "And that's that. Deal with it."

Her grandfather glares at her and his brows furrow in contemplation. Finally, he says, "Fine."

With a dramatic billow of his robes, he stomps away, loudly muttering, "Great! Now I'll have to get Huang's son but that idiot is a complete dolt…or maybe Shih's daughter is available…"

Jin looks at her grandfather's retreating figure before re-focusing her attention back to the weeds.

The day continues on quickly. She finishes weeding the tomato patch. She waters all of the flower beds and helps Lady Fai load all of the fertilizer she ordered into her carriage. She picks her little brother up from earthbending school before going to Cheng's house. She tries (and fails) to convince his dad to enter into the tea business.

Eventually, Jin comes home. After eating a quick dinner, she takes a bath, checks her brother's homework, tells him a story and tucks him in bed, says goodnight to her grandfather and goes to sleep.

She doesn't go back to the teashop at all.

* * *

The shop is in a lull today. Pao falls asleep by the counter, his head lolling against his shoulders, his mouth wide open and a fine dribble of saliva slowly trickling from his lips. Iroh and Zuko are in the back room; Zuko is busily washing all the teacups and pots while Iroh is restocking all the tea leaves.

Every once in a while Zuko would pause from his washing to go outside and peer at the tables. He would come back, every time, with a disappointed look on his face.

"Waiting for someone, nephew?" Iroh genially says as Zuko returns to the back room for the hundredth time, his face screwed in an upset and despondent expression.

"No," Zuko snaps as he stomps towards the sink, forcefully retrieves a newly cleaned teacup and grabs a rag. His hand is gripping the teacup too tightly and his other hand is wiping it in a forceful, livid fashion.

Iroh continues restocking the jar of rosehips as Zuko cleans all of the cups and pots. The two of them don't say anything for the longest of time.

It is his uncle who speaks first.

"Did something happen between you and Jin?" Iroh gently asks. His voice isn't prying and there is not a hint of his usual humor in his eyes. He sounds concerned and his face is serious as he looks at his nephew.

Zuko stiffens.

Jin hasn't come back for three days now. Why should he be the one to make the first move? She lied to him about living in the Upper Ring and she told him a lot of nasty things as well. And _hypothetically_, if he does want to make the first move, what should he say anyway? If he apologizes, it will be an admission that he was, in fact, really jealous (and he most certainly wasn't.) If he acts as if the argument never happened then it will only make things all the more awkward. Not going back and not being friends is the easier option.

Zuko slams the teacup against the table, nearly breaking it. His fingers clench and his eyes flash with remorse. He says in a tight voice, "Mind your own business."

He steps outside again before his uncle can say anything else.

* * *

Jin sits on the bench outside her brother's eartbending school as she waits for him to come out. Picking her brother up from school is something that rarely happens because she is so busy with her job and the University. But during Spring break, she never misses a chance to come and walk with him home. On their way to the house, Jin usually buys him an ice cream cone and they spend a great deal of time window shopping in the bazaars before getting home.

"Jin!"

She nearly staggers backwards as her little brother springs forward and envelops her in a warm hug.

"Hey," Jin says as she ruffles his hair. Dirt is streaked across his shirt and there is a bruise on his cheek. She frowns at him. "What happened?"

"I got into a fight with Pin! He was being a jerk. He called grandpa a stupid, old loser when my team won again in earth soccer. So, I told him, 'My grandpa's a war hero so don't you talk about him that way.' And then, he laughed at me so I started earthbending and then boom…pow…wham…and he was history. The headmaster called me up but I just got off on a warning."

He flashes her a triumphant smile which quickly forms into a frown when he catches his sister's distracted expression. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"You've been acting weird lately."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been kinda sad these past few days."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Like just now, I can tell that you aren't really paying attention."

"I'm paying attention."

"No, you're not. What were me and Pin fighting about?"

"Oh…er…um…he shoved you and—''

"Nu-uh! That isn't it! You weren't listening!" He pokes her on the arm. "What's up with you? What's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me."

"You're lying. You're doing that twitchy thing with your nose." Jin glares at him and he flashes her a toothy, innocent smile. He gives her a sly look and says in a sing-song voice, "Did you and your boyfriend break up? Is that why you're so sad?"

"What? I don't have a boyfriend," Jin denies, her cheeks coloring.

Ro ignores her. "Yes, you do. The tea server guy."

He taps his chin and says in mock contemplation, "What's his name again? Yee? Jee? Oh….right…_Lee!"_

Jin's face turns redder. She scowls at him and attempts to swat him on the arm. He ducks to avoid her hand and runs off, gleefully laughing, "Ooohh…Jin and Lee, kissing on a tree…."

"Ro! Come back here!" Jin screeches as she attempts to catch him. Her brother continues running away, his laugh growing louder when he catches Jin resting by a tree, out of breath.

Jin hates it whenever her brother outruns her.

She hates it even more when he's right.

* * *

"Where are you going, uncle?" Zuko asks when he sees his uncle removing his apron. The shop is experiencing a particularly slow day and Zuko is bored out of his mind with nothing to do. There are no customers to be served and he has already finished clearing away the spills and washing the used cups and pots.

Usually, during slow days, he spends his time having much longer conversations with Jin. Now, he is sitting by the counter, drawing circle patterns on the wood while Pao sits next to him, eating a sandwich.

"Getting some leaves for the Jasmine tea. We ran out so I'm planning to brew some more for Jin," Iroh says. Jin never came back, not once, not since that night. But Pao and his uncle still act as if Jin is going to come, as if they haven't lost one of their favorite regulars.

Zuko exhales loudly and looks up to give his uncle a disapproving look. Iroh raises a brow at him and says, "What?"

"You shouldn't even bother," Zuko waspishly says.

"Um—''

"She's is never coming back, okay Uncle?!" The words are laced with regret when they tumble from his mouth.

"Oh."

"She hasn't been back for nearly a week," Zuko grumbles as he looks down and continues drawing circle patterns on the countertop. "Preparing more Jasmine tea than necessary is useless. She's the only one who drinks it…"

He trails off.

Iroh sagely smiles and puts his apron back on. "It's good then because now I don't have to make the extra effort of walking to the market."

"Yeah," Zuko mutters without looking up. His uncle sits next to him and starts whistling an unrecognizable tune. An awkward wave of silence suddenly passes through the room.

"Did you and Jin break up?" Pao suddenly says.

"What?!" Zuko nearly stumbles over as he looks up.

Pao nonchalantly shrugs and says, "She hasn't come back in a long time. Did you two have a fight or something?"

"We didn't have a fight. And we didn't break up. We aren't even friends," Zuko growls as he sends Pao a murderous look.

"I wish you two would work it out already. I'd hate to lose her as customer," Pao continues, completely oblivious of Zuko's wrath. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who broke up with you."

"She didn't break up with me," Zuko says through gritted teeth. Iroh places a hand on Zuko's shoulder and attempts to calm him down.

"Sure, she didn't," Pao disbelievingly says. He takes a bite out of his sandwich and says, "If you want to talk about it, then I don't mind. I'm all ears. You must be really upset about losing your girlfriend."

"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko explodes before stomping off to the back room.

* * *

The library is quiet and Jin struggles to stay awake as she grasps the scroll in her hands. The words blur together and she finds herself reading the same sentence for the past five minutes. She doesn't know why she feels so distracted, even more so than she usually is when she reads or studies boring scrolls, and it frustrates her.

"Um…Jin."

Jin jumps, startled. She turns to the side and sees Cheng.

Cheng is the son of Quon but he isn't half as obnoxious or creepy as him. When she was in secondary school, he always made it a point to sit next to her. Her grandfather says that he thinks that Cheng likes her, but she can't be too sure because he really hasn't done anything to support her grandfather's assumption.

"Hi." Jin smiles. She has forgotten that he is sitting next to her, diligently poring over a book for his paper. Jin is supposed to be helping him with his research about organic underwater plant forms but she hasn't really contributed much. She just mostly spent her time with him talking about the tea industry and subtly (or not so subtly) dropping hints that it would be a good business venture.

She doesn't even want to be here. She likes the library well enough but it's always too hot and the air always smells too musty. She'd rather be back in the greenhouse or at the teashop. But she needs to convince Cheng so he can convince his father to sponsor Mushi.

He looks nervous and he starts drumming his fingers against the table.

"How's the reading?" He tries to make it sound casual but it comes off as a nervous splutter.

"Almost done. It's pretty boring," Jin says. She hasn't understood a single word actually.

"Yes, the author of that book is rather dull. He uses far too many words for my liking," he says in agreement. He keeps looking at everywhere but her.

"How about you?"

"I just finished actually."

"Oh." Jin is guilty because she is still halfway through her first book and Cheng has already finished his third. "So, can we use anything in there for your paper?"

"Yes, there are quite a few things that I could use." He sits up a bit straighter and continues on in a more confident voice, "I finished it quickly enough."

"That's good," Jin says as she flashes him a wide smile.

"Yeah. It is." He pauses. "So, um…."

Cheng clears his throat and says, "Do you wanna maybe hang out together sometime?"

"Hang out?" Jin says, a little confused.

"You know. Hang out. We can go check out the bazaars or watch a play or have dinner together. You know, whatever you want. My treat," he says as he finally meets her eyes.

"_Oh_," Jin says in realization.

He _does_ like her.

Jin stares at him. Cheng is handsome, in a boyish kind of way, and he always has a gentle smile on his face. He is kind and sweet, if not a little too talkative, from the numerous conversations they have had together. He always talks about his mother, something that immediately endears him to her. He is well-spoken and very polite, just a little shy.

He is cute and he seems like someone who would be fun to go out on a date with. But there is something about him that seems lacking, although she can't quite point it out.

Jin avoids his gaze and fiddles with the hem of her sleeve. "I don't know…I mean I'm really busy—''

"We can get tea together. You really like tea, don't you?" he says in desperation.

She suddenly thinks of Lee and the way his hands would grip the teacup too tightly.

She is thinking of saying yes to him but when she opens her mouth, what she says is, "Maybe some other time. I don't think I have the free time. I'll take a rain check."

"Oh. Okay." He looks down in disappointment for a moment. Then he brightens up again and gives her a lopsided smile. "I'll hold you to that rain check. Some other time, then."

He gives her a hopeful look.

Jin nervously shifts in her place as she lies, "Some other time."

* * *

He feels restless.

Zuko stares up at the ceiling and broods as he attempts to fall asleep. The teashop had a busy day today. She still hadn't come back. Not that he cared. He was way too busy to care. He had spent the whole day racing back and forth in the shop, collecting money and making sure that everyone got the tea they wanted. His uncle had prepared a pot of Jasmine tea that was left unfinished and Pao incessantly pestered him for details about his and Jin's completely non-existent break-up.

The least she could've done was come back, at least once, to tell them that she won't be going to the teashop anymore. She can't just leave his uncle and Pao (and him) like this without any explanation, without any closure. Yeah, he knew that she was probably angry and hurt over a couple of things he said to her that night but she should've given him—no, not _him_, Pao and his uncle—a proper goodbye.

He can't believe her.

She is so inconsiderate.

He starts wondering if Jin misses him. He imagines her lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about him. What could she be doing right now? Maybe she is training. Maybe she is hanging out with her little brother. Maybe she is studying. Maybe she is going over books for _Cheng's_ research paper. The research paper which she is helping him with. In his room. Alone.

He scowls and sits up. This is impossible. He can't sleep. And it's all her fault.

He stands up and starts pacing back and forth. He doesn't know why he feels so annoyed and frustrated.

He suddenly, irrationally has the urge to go outside, despite it being curfew, to go to her house and to apologize. Even though he despises apologizing; he is going to anyway, because he misses her. He misses talking to her. He misses walking around the Lower Ring with her and watching street theatre plays. He misses serving Jasmine tea to her. He misses her disarming smile and her bright green eyes, always wide and lively with delight.

He misses her being the only thing in this stupid city that makes him happy.

He takes a step towards the door, but stops just as his hands touch the doorknob. His whole existence here in Ba Sing Se is a lie. Being friends with Jin will only be allowing the lie to flourish.

Why is here?

What is he doing?

He asks himself for the thousandth time. He doesn't really have an answer but what he does have is a decision. He can't do it. He can't apologize and patch things up with her. If he does, he is sure that he will inevitably hurt her (more than he already has).

(A part of him is aware that he's only making up excuses but an even bigger part of him decides that he really doesn't care.)

* * *

Sweat drips off Jin's face as she does the movements of the drill. Today's training session is focused on upper body strength. The drill is easy enough, but it is still strenuous and exacting and the training session is lasting an hour longer than usual. Her grandfather watches her as she goes through the movements again and again.

"Stop," her grandfather loudly says.

Jin abruptly stops, her hands hanging in mid-air and her feet stretched into a rigid stance. She looks up to meet her grandfather's eyes. He is standing in front of her, his arms folded and his gaze, critical and precise.

"What was that?" he demands.

"Um…earthbending?"

"Are you kidding me!?" Jin winces at the harsh tone of his voice. "That was the most atrocious display of earthbending I have ever been subjected to!"

"I'm sorry," she sincerely says. His eyes glare at her with a probing glance.

"What is wrong with you!? You aren't focused. You're distracted."

Jin looks down as he continues to frown at her.

"You've lost control over your breathing again," he snaps.

"Yeah, I figured," she wheezes as she tries to force as much air as she can into her lungs.

"You need to work on your stamina and endurance," he sternly tells her as he moves closer towards her. "And your technique has a long way to go. At times, your form is also a little sloppy."

Jin seriously nods her head and tries to not be too upset over the criticisms. She understands that if she wants to succeed in becoming proficient in earthbending, she must constantly practice and polish the areas that she needs working on. And she can only do that, if she pays attention to her grandfather's comments, even if they really hurt most of the time.

Her grandfather used to be a general and he's one of the greatest earthbenders in the city so he must know what he's talking about when he's training her. He used to be the head of the Council of Five and he led the Earth Kingdom forces against the Fire Nation when they tried to conquer Ba Sing Se, a few years back. He doesn't like talking about the Siege though. Jin doesn't really understand why. Yes, she knows that he almost lost to the Dragon of the West but in the end, he still won. She figures that it may be because he got into a huge fight with Long Feng. He's still sore over getting fired from the Council of Five and being replaced with the much younger General How.

"You're a girl," he says shortly.

Jin doesn't know how to respond without sounding disrespectful. So she says, "Oh."

"You aren't as muscular as men," he says, matter-of-factly. "You aren't as strong."

He grabs her elbow and lightly taps it, as if to prove a point. "Put more emphasis on your elbows. And knees, when we are focusing on lower body strength. You can put more power and strength behind them and use them to your advantage."

Jin nods and holds her hand up to her forehead in mock salute, unable to keep her serious demeanor. "Yes, sir."

Her grandfather glares at her and frowns. "Be serious! You think learning how to defend yourself is a joke?"

"No, of course not!"

"Pah!" he growls disbelievingly. He gestures at her stomach. "Your centre is also off and therefore, your root can easily be disrupted. Never forget to keep tension and pressure here."

He furrows his brows and looks at the distance in contemplation. Finally, he looks at her and says, "I want you to stay in this position for the next hour."

He spreads his feet apart and shows her the position.

"What!? Are you serious!?" Jin says, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Your form is too fluid. You need to be rigid and rooted. And you are distracted." He gives an exasperated sigh. "What is wrong with you!? _Focus._ When you're in the middle of a fight, your enemy won't be as gracious as me to point out all your mistakes!"

"Gramps…" Jin tiredly sighs as she wipes the sweat from her brows. "What am I going to need this for anyway? We're in Ba Sing Se. The most dangerous thing I will ever face is you at six in the morning."

He glares at her and sternly says, "Do not take earthbending training lightly. Someday you will need it."

"For what? What are you talking—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as I say!" he irately snaps. He then looks at her flushed face and tired expression. Sighing, he gruffly says, "Fine. You can take a break. Take some ginger tea. It will soothe your muscles."

"Yes, gramps," Jin says as she forces a smile out.

She momentarily feels a slight spasm of sadness when she is reminded of Lee.

* * *

Zuko storms out of the teashop as soon as he finishes slamming his tray against the table. His shift did not start out well. One of the guys from Dr. Shu's party came by with his other rich friends and offered his uncle a chance at a new life in the Upper Ring, running his very own teashop. It's a great opportunity and all but the first thing he thought about when he heard the news was that avoiding Jin will be a lot harder if they live in the same Ring.

He shakes his head and scowls. Why is he even thinking about this? Why does he even care?

He shouldn't.

Because caring implies that he actually wants to see her again (and he really doesn't). Caring implies that he wants to patch things up with her (and he really doesn't). Caring implies that he wants to apologize (and he really doesn't). Caring implies that he actually _cares_ about her (and he really doesn't).

The sound of fluttering paper interrupts his line of thought. He looks up and sees a shower of papers falling down on everything—the heads of passers-by, the streets, the rooftops. He reaches out and grabs one.

His eyes widen as everything comes into focus.

His life, which has become a jumbled mess, is now clear again—all the pieces are falling back into place. The Avatar has lost his bison. The Avatar is here, in Ba Sing Se. First, he will have to find the bison and capture it. And from there, he can figure something out.

He fists the paper in his hands as he starts scaling a nearby building. Home, which had been so far away before, now seems just a breath away. His honour, his throne, his life; they are within reach once again.

He lifts his face to the sky, his eyes searching for a glimpse of the Avatar, for a glimpse of his ticket back home.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

* * *

The night is cold as he quietly makes his way past the darkening street lamps and the nondescript forms of the night watchmen patrolling the deserted streets. His feet are light and his movements are deft as he slips past them, the shadows perfectly blending in with his dark clothes. As he runs, he can feel the sheath of his swords pressing against his shoulder blades. The mask, which is securely fastened with a strap, slaps against his back with every step that he takes.

Zuko continues on in silence, climbing up walls and running on rooftops. He stops when he arrives in the Upper Ring and walks in a slower, more cautious fashion. There are more Dai Li agents in the Upper Ring and he is more likely to get caught here. He doesn't stop moving until he sees a narrow alleyway branching out to the left. He quickly makes the turn, his feet carrying him along the familiar path, stopping only when he catches sight of the thick walls surrounding a compound. He swiftly climbs over it and makes his way towards a large, beautiful house encircled by a thicket of flowers and plants tucked away in a corner.

He stares at it, his hands clenching and unclenching as he tries to figure out why he bothered coming here in the first place. Despite the coolness of the air, he is sweating underneath his clothes.

It takes him five minutes before he manages to walk up to the front porch. He raises a hesitant hand and knocks on the door once.

Silence.

He shuffles back and forth on the porch, his steps uneven and impatient. It was foolish of him to come here. It is already way past curfew. Surely, she must be asleep by now. Maybe he should just forget this stupid idea and get on with what he is supposed to do.

He turns around and tries to move forward but his feet stay rooted in place.

He wipes his sweating palms by pressing them against his pants. He grits his teeth and scowls before turning back around to face the door. Cursing at himself, he knocks on the door, his fist beating against it harder this time.

He waits in silence, for about a quarter of a minute, before hearing the sounds of footsteps. He sighs, relieved that she is finally answering but his relief quickly melts into panic when he realizes that her grandfather might be the one who will answer. What will her grandfather say, when he sees this strange boy, standing outside of their house, in the dead of the night, looking for his granddaughter?

He slams his hand against his forehead, cursing at his idiocy. He has to leave, right now, before that door opens and—

"Hello?" a groggy, yawning voice says.

Zuko relaxes when he sees that it is Jin's brother. He is wearing a pair of pyjamas that are too long for him; they fall in folds over his ankles and obscure his feet. His eyes are still bleary with sleep and his wild, dark hair, which is always held with a topknot, is in disarray, falling all over his shoulders.

"Hey, Ro," Zuko says.

"Lee?" His eyes widen and his sleepy stupor is quickly replaced with alertness. "What are you doing here? And why are you dressed weird?"

"I...um...uh..." His words fail him. _What is he doing here?_ He kicks at the dirt on the ground for a few seconds before finally managing to splutter a response, "I'm here to see your sister. Can I talk to her for a few minutes?"

Zuko is surprised when Ro glares at him. The boy folds his arms and stamps on the ground with his foot, saying, "Nu-uh. No way."

"Why not?" Zuko frowns.

"Jin won't talk to me about it but I know that you and her had a fight or something." He shakes his head. "I don't think she wants to talk to you."

Zuko groans and bends down to meet Ro's eyes. In a desperate, pleading voice, he says, "Me and your sister just had an...um...disagreement—''

Ro rolls his eyes. "That's just a grown-up word for nasty fight."

"I know, I know," Zuko mutters in defeat. He pinches the bridge of his nose and mutters under his breath before facing Ro again. Trying one last time, he says, "Ro, listen, I just really, _really _need to talk to your sister, okay? It won't take long. I promise."

"My grandpa will be mad."

"I'll be real quiet."

Ro looks at him, his eyebrow raised and his lower lip sticking out in contemplation. Zuko feels nauseous. He can feel beads of sweat rolling off his forehead. He isn't sure why Ro's answer is making him so nervous with anticipation.

Finally Ro sighs and says, "Okay. I'll wake her up so that you can talk to her but—''

"But what?" Zuko anxiously says.

"But she won't be happy. There's nothing she hates more than her sleep getting interrupted." A smirk slowly spreads across Ro's face. "She'll probably be very annoyed and cranky. Talking to her won't be pleasant. _Trust me_."

Zuko snorts. "Don't worry about it. I can deal with her."

A sinister look crosses Ro's face and in an ominous voice, he says, "You've been warned."

Zuko chuckles, as the boy turns around and quickly sprints into the house. His nervousness and unease, which had begun to dissipate at Ro's decision to wake his sister, quickly return in full force when he realizes that he will be talking to her in a few minutes. He starts pacing back and forth on the front porch, his feet colliding against the wood too loudly against the stillness of the night. What is he supposed to say to her? Why is he even here?

He scowls, thoroughly annoyed (and a little frightened at the same time). As usual, he didn't think things through. It was a sudden decision, a decision borne to him as he prowled through the empty streets in search for a lone Dai Li agent. He shouldn't have come here. What did he think he could achieve by showing up at her doorstep, in the middle of the night?

"Hurry up!" He hears Ro's voice say from behind the door.

"Ugh! I swear, Ro, if this is some sort of stupid prank you're playing on me, you are in for a world of hurt!"

Zuko stiffens when he hears _her_ voice.

"It's not! It's not!" Ro protests. "There really is someone who wants to see you!"

"It's in the middle of the night! What kind of inconsiderate ass—''

"Curse word! You said a curse word!" Ro's voice is admonishing.

"— would have the nerve to wake me up at this hour!?" she rages. He can hear the fury in her voice. It makes him wince.

"You are so annoying!" Ro complains. "And stop yelling. Gramps is asleep and you'll wake him up!"

"Ugh!"

The voices lull into a silence and he hears harried footsteps padding against the floor. He tenses when the door opens.

Jin hesitantly emerges out of the house, her long hair loose and flowing around her shoulders. A bathrobe is loosely thrown over her frame and his cheeks redden when he sees that she is wearing nothing but a loose shirt and her underwear underneath the robe. He tries to keep his eyes from trailing over her bare legs and to contain the unfamiliar heat pooling at his lower abdomen.

When she meets his eyes, the irritated look in her eyes widens into surprise and her hands clumsily fumble to tie the sash around her waist tighter.

"Lee?" she says.

"I told you so..." Ro says in a sing-song voice from behind her. She glares at him before pushing him out of the way, stepping forward and closing the door. She calls after him, drowning out his loud, teasing, "Go to sleep, Ro!"

She then focuses her attention on Zuko.

"Hey," he awkwardly mumbles as he starts twiddling his thumbs.

"What are you doing here? Are you crazy? It's past curfew!" Jin worriedly says. She stands on her tiptoes and peeks over his shoulder, as if a Dai Li agent is, at this moment, right behind him.

Zuko rolls his eyes. "Stop worrying. It's no big deal."

"How'd you even know where my house is?"

"My uncle."

"Oh." She pauses as her eyes sweep over his form. "What's with the get-up? And the swords? And the really creepy mask?"

He glares at her. "It's nothing."

"You look way too suspicious. You're going to get caught," Jin says, a frown forming on her lips.

Zuko scoffs. "I won't."

"You are so full of it sometimes." A grin pulls at her lips and Zuko's lips twitch upwards into a smile. The two of them grin at each other. Before Zuko can have a chance to say anything else, as if remembering their disagreement (nasty fight) Jin's fraction of a smile disappears into a scowl. She folds her arms and glowers at him. "I thought we weren't friends."

Okay, so she is still mad at him.

"We aren't," he bitingly retorts. Okay, so apparently he is also still mad at her. He matches her glare and before he can stop himself, he snaps, "So, how's your new boyfriend?'

"His name is Cheng and he's not my boyfriend," Jin responds evenly. After a second's pause, she then derisively adds, "And he's fine by the way."

"Whatever. How's his research paper? Having fun?"

"Why, yes I'm having fun! I'm having the time of my life, thanks for asking!" she sardonically snaps.

"You're welcome!"

"No problem!"

"Don't mention it!"

"I won't!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

It takes him a few seconds to realize that they are talking back and forth with each other in raised voices. Zuko sighs and closes his eyes as he tries to take several calming breaths. He is pretty sure that he came here to see Jin for something else, not to start another argument with her.

Jin heaves a sigh and wearily says, "Why are you here, Lee?"

"I...um...I don't know." He shrugs and he finds himself losing his bearings again. He looks up and meets her eyes and says, "My uncle. He received an offer to get his own teashop."

Jin breaks out into a huge smile. She claps her hands together and enthusiastically says, "I did it! I can't believe I actually convinced him—''

"Convinced who?"

She ignores his question. She continues, "Lee, that's amazing! You're uncle must be really happy!"

Zuko's mouth curls into a small, kernel of a smile. "Yeah. It's all he talks about these days. It's kind of annoying."

"I can only imagine," Jin chuckles with a shake of her head. She then pauses, a curious look spreading across her face. "So...what, you had to tell me this in the middle of the night? At the risk of being caught by the Dai Li? Is it so important that you can't wait to tell me until tomorrow?"

"Actually I came by because...I've got something for you,"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Is it another coupon?" Jin teasingly says.

"No!" he snaps, annoyed. He twiddles with his thumbs and looks down in hesitation. Finally he looks up and fumbles through his pockets. He takes it out—the knife; the last remnant of his uncle's almost-victory against Ba Sing Se. He stares at Jin from the corner of his eye and watches as her eyes take in the cold silver of the dagger.

"Here," he says as he stretches his arm out and holds it out for her.

Jin takes it and carefully feels the handle and blade with her finger.

"A knife. Seriously? You're giving me a knife? What would I even do with this?"

"Stab people. That's what knives do. Or if you're feeling extra-hungry, you can use it to cut meat and vegetables up," he dryly says.

"Lee..."

"Read the inscription," Zuko says.

She holds it closer towards her face and squints at the characters etched on the blade. "Made in the Earth Kingdom..."

Zuko exasperatedly sighs and says, "The other one."

"Never give up without a fight."

She looks up and smiles at him.

"Lee, thank you so much. This is so sweet." A confused look crosses her face. "But why are you giving this to me?"

"Don't thank me. It was my uncle's idea." (It wasn't his uncle's idea at all.) "He says that I need to give you a gift as an apology for being...unpleasant during the party," he mumbles as he starts rubbing the back of his head. He feels like he is in the Firelight Fountain again, with the lamps glowing against the darkness and the water radiant against the lights.

She smiles but it suddenly disappears into a frown. She folds her arms and glares at him, "Cut the garbage, Lee."

"Excuse me?"

She holds the knife up. "This isn't why you gave this to me."

Her eyes narrow in suspicion. She places her hands on her hips and demands, "What are you planning to do?"

"What are you talking about?" he defensively retorts.

"You're planning something. I'm not an idiot." She frowns at him and gestures between the two of them. "This...what you're doing...it's almost as if you're saying goodbye..."

He suddenly wishes that Jin isn't half as observant as she's being right now.

He uncomfortably shifts in his place. "Why would I do that? I mean, we'll be seeing each other in the Upper Ring a lot more now that my uncle has a teashop here. I just came here because I figured that we need to get along again if we're going to be seeing each other here."

Jin looks at him disbelievingly. "Yeah, right. You better not be planning to do something stupid. This is an amazing opportunity for you and your uncle. If you go stirring up trouble, all the hard work that _I_—I mean, your uncle—has put into getting here will be all for nothing. You could lose all the good things that you've gained."

Zuko rolls his eyes and insistently says, "Quit being so paranoid. I'm not planning anything."

She bites her bottom lip and looks away. She doesn't say anything for a really long time. Finally, she looks at him again and says, "Lee...it's everyone's dream to be here in the Upper Ring. People come here in Ba Sing Se to live a new life. To get a second chance. You and your uncle...you guys have already done it. What more could you want?"

He doesn't know what he wants. What he does know is that he wants more from his life than having a nice apartment and serving tea. He glares at her. "You don't get it."

"You're right. I don't." She looks at him with genuine concern. "I'm just worried. I don't want you to get into trouble. The Dai Li might—''

He loudly sighs. "Jin, I swear. I'm not planning anything."

Jin meets his eyes. "Promise?"

He thinks that he should tell her the truth but instead he lies, "Promise."

A satisfied smile crosses her face. She gestures at the knife and says, "Thank you so much. For this."

Zuko grins at her. "Sure. I just hope that you'll never get to use it though."

Jin suddenly leans forward and hugs him. He stiffens, for a second, at the close contact but then he relaxes against her. His arms encircle her waist and she murmurs into his cheek, "May the Spirits bless you and your uncle in your new life."

She leans back and out of instinct, he quickly tucks a lock of her stray hair behind her ear. Before he can stop himself, he leans forward and presses his forehead against hers. Their noses touch and he shivers but he doesn't pull away. He murmurs, "I'm sorry. For that night."

"It's okay," Jin tells him. She cups the side of his cheek where his scar is. He doesn't react as if he is scalded, like he normally does when someone touches his scar. "I'm sorry too. For some of the things I said. You're right. You've been through a lot and I don't understand."

She strokes his scar and for a quick moment, Zuko suddenly makes the decision of going back to the apartment and leaving the Avatar's bison alone. But just as quickly, that moment disappears. "It's okay."

He doesn't stop though. He doesn't stop leaning forward, to where her lips are.

It is Jin who jerks backwards this time. She rips herself away from him and takes a step back. Zuko tries to mask his disappointment as he removes his hands from her hips.

"You better get going. The Dai Li or the night watchmen might catch you."

"Yeah."

"Goodbye, Lee."

"Goodbye, Jin."

He turns around and runs off into the shadows, to catch the Avatar's bison.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry for updating really late. Well, I always update late but I think that I posted this chapter way later than usual. Expect the next chapter to be updated a bit later than usual as well. I am drowning in papers and the only time I can get internet service is when I can go to a cafe.

Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed. Please don't stop :)


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

* * *

Zuko shivers as the cold scales of the dragons coil around his body. They blow puffs and streams of smoke, blurring his vision and making him cough. His head painfully aches as the two of them both whisper in his ear. He tries to make sense of what they are saying to him, but their words sound so far away and garbled.

"_You're right. He looks terrible. What happened to him?"_

"_I don't know. He's been sick for days now. His temperature bounces up and down so drastically. Sometimes he's too cold, sometimes he's too hot. But don't worry about it. I've already called a doctor."_

The blue dragon presses against his side and whispers at him to go to sleep. It blows out an extremely hot stream of smoke from its nostrils, into his face. He spasms.

"_It was really nice of you to visit."_

"_Don't be ridiculous. I had to come over as soon as I heard that he was sick."_

"_I hope you won't get into trouble with your grandfather for missing work."_

"_Pfft. He'll get over it."_

"_Thank you for the noodles."_

"_They're your favorite. I brought Lee's favorite as well but I don't think he will be able to enjoy them."_

"_He called for you, you know. Once. In his sleep."_

"_He probably said something else and you misheard him."_

"_No. It was definitely your name." Pause. "So, I've been meaning to ask, are you two still fighting?"_

"_We weren't fighting."_

_Loud laughter. _Zuko winces at the noise.

"_Sure, you weren't."_

"_Don't worry. He already apologized. On the night he told me you guys were coming to live here in the Upper Ring."_

"_How romantic."_

"_Pfft. More like idiotic. He came in the middle in the night. He could've been caught by the Dai Li or the night watchmen."_

"_He has never been one to think things through."_

He closes his eyes and the red dragon barks at him to wake up, to turn away from the blue dragon. A throbbing pain rises from his head as their voices raise octaves higher.

He feels something cool rest on his forehead although he can't see what it is. It feels soft and smooth, like silk.

"_Are you two spies? Or deserters?"_

_A long stretch of silence. "We're neither. We are traitors. Exiles. But most of all, we are just like everyone else here. Refugees looking to start a new life."_

"_You don't seem surprised that I know."_

"_You don't look like you believe me."_

"_I'm sorry. It's just that…sometimes…it's really hard looking at you and Lee without thinking about how my mother and father—''_

"_It's okay. I understand. You don't have to say it. You are taking this a lot better than most people would have. How long have you known?"_

"_Since our first date." Pause. "Are you and Lee planning to stay here in Ba Sing Se?"_

"_Yes, that is my wish. I want me and my nephew to settle down here. I want him to have a good life. I want him to find a nice girl, get married, give me lots of grandnephews and grandnieces—''_

"_Mushi, don't look at me like that—''_

_Loud laughter. "My nephew deserves peace and contentment in his life. He's been through a lot. But…with the war going on…you can never how things will turn out."_

_Bitterness."That's true."_

"_He's a good man, Jin."_

"_I know."_

He wants to rest. His eyelids grow heavy as the blue dragon whispers in his ear again to sleep. Maybe he should listen to it. He does feel tired and all he really wants to do is lie down on his bed and sleep. He closes his eyelids and the blue dragon screams into his ear, "Just like mother!"

He is falling, falling into darkness. He opens his mouth to cry for help but no sound comes out. The red dragon is calling out to him, telling him to calm down. It shoves the blue dragon aside and hurtles towards him. The blue dragon hisses and recoils in anger.

His heart stops thumping wildly against his chest when the red dragon catches him on its back. The creature flies him towards a small corner and settles down. Zuko slides off its back and leans against its warm, great big hide.

The dragon raises its head to face him and Zuko frowns in confusion when he sees that the dragon's eyes are green. They are a familiar sort of green. Green with flecks of gold and amber. He's seen those eyes before.

Zuko yawns and the red dragon tells him that it's okay to sleep now—except that the red dragon isn't really red anymore. Its scales have turned into jade and its voice has grown softer, gentler, more feminine somehow.

"Where's the red dragon?" he demands, the words come out of his mouth in a slow, drawn-out manner.

"Just go to sleep," the jade dragon says. It leans forward and instead of blowing out a stream of smoke like he expects to, it tenderly licks him in the forehead.

Zuko nods and complies. He curls himself up against the dragon's side and closes his eyes. From above them, he can feel the blue dragon's presence, circling them, patiently waiting for a sign of weakness. But he knows that he will be alright. The jade or red (or whatever color it is) dragon will protect him.

The jade dragon starts singing a lullaby about stars and boats and oceans and skies. The dark sky fills up with a hundred of bright stars, bright firelights.

Zuko finally falls asleep.

* * *

"Hey! You! Vegetable-girl!"

Zuko smirks at Jin as she looks up to meet his eyes. She's at the back trimming a penjing, surrounded by tall tree-like plants, vines and flowers. She looks up at him in surprise, holds her hand up and signals him to wait as she puts the trimmers away and makes her way towards him.

He's been out sick for the last few days and he has missed the opening of their teashop. But when he woke up today he felt great—better than he's felt in a really long time. And their new teashop is amazing; the pay is better and the customers (despite being twenty times more obnoxious) give bigger tips. Everything is falling into place; his life is stable, he is content and his uncle is happy. The only thing missing is Jin.

He hasn't seen her since the night he came over to her house to apologize. So, as soon as he finished his shift in the teashop today, he went here right away, to her grandfather's gardening shop.

"I've been waiting here for fifteen minutes," Zuko gruffly tells her.

Jin folds her arms and raises a brow at him. "Sorry, for the delay sir—''Zuko's grins when she says the word "sir". "—but as you can see, I was kind of busy."

"The service here is shoddy," Zuko says. He gives her an irritated look.

"Pfft." Jin snorts. "Whenever I go to the teashop , the service there is always shoddy. The waiter in particular, isn't very nice."

Zuko glares at her. "I'm a great waiter. And I always serve your tea on time."

"You never even take my order."

"That's because you order the same thing every day. Taking your order is a waste of time."

Jin grins at him. "I see that being bedridden for days still hasn't improved your mood."

"Wait—what? Bedridden? You went to our apartment?" Zuko says, looking slightly horrified.

Jin's grin grows wider at the expression on his face. "I came over to visit you. I also saw you puke at least seven times, brought some of your favorite noodles (although your uncle ended up eating all of it) and played some Pai Sho with him. Although he isn't a very fun person to play with. He _cheats_."

Zuko snorts. "Maybe you're just a really lousy Pai Sho player."

"Did you come all the way here just to act all irritated with me?' Jin demands as she places her hands on her hips.

Zuko's frown disappears into a huge smile. "Actually, my uncle…um…sent me to get some plants or flowers or something for our shop. He said we needed to have a bit of color."

Jin gestures at him to move forward. "Take a look around. Tell me if you see anything you like."

He stops himself before he can tell her what he _truly_ likes. He pretends to look around although he isn't really paying much attention to the flowers. He keeps looking at Jin—her hair is haphazardly tied in braids and there is dirt scattered all over her dress. He thinks that she looks pretty however; there's this nice relaxed air about her that he likes.

"Lee!? Hello! Are you still there?" Jin says as she snaps her fingers in front of his face.

"Hm?" Zuko sheepishly says as he comes back into focus.

"I said that I have the white dragon bush tea leaves your uncle wanted." She holds out the pouch of tea and gives it a fond look. "Make sure it gets to him. Your uncle spent hours giving me a lecture on the different kinds of tea when I visited your shop and he wouldn't stop talking about the white dragon bush."

"He gave you a lecture about tea?" Zuko incredulously says as he takes the pouch.

"Yeah. But I think that he was just mostly looking for an excuse to brew lots and lots of tea," Jin says as she bends down and starts examining a pot of snake plants. She glances up at him from the corner of her eyes and says, "I'm glad that you're better. I thought that you would die or something."

Zuko's lips twitch into a smile.

"You were worried about me," he states.

Jin snorts. "Sure, because you hallucinating and having extreme drops and increases in temperature are things that I shouldn't worry about."

"I'm happy that you were worried about me," he tells her. Her smile widens and she flushes. His grin grows wider when she turns her face away from him.

"How's Cheng's research paper?" Zuko asks, half in a joking manner, half in a serious voice.

"He finished it," Jin says.

Zuko tries to sound as less happy as he possibly can. "Oh. So, I guess that means that you and Cheng won't be spending so much time together anymore."

"Yeah, I guess." Jin shrugs.

"So I guess that means you have a lot of free time now," Zuko continues.

"More or less," Jin says. She finally faces him and gives him a confused look. "What's with you today?"

"What?"

"I don't know...you just seem so..._happy_," Jin says. She gives him a strange look—the same strange look his uncle keeps giving him lately.

"Why shouldn't I be? My uncle's new teashop has finally opened," he says with a shrug. He flushes slightly when he tells her, "And I'm here, standing next to you. What's not to be happy about?"

Jin's cheeks redden but she continues to look at him with a confused look on her face.

"And you're smiling." She says it as if she is pointing out a particularly unusual fact.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He pokes her on the arm. "Weren't you the one who told me that it wouldn't kill me to laugh or smile on occasion?"

"The fever has obviously made you crazy," Jin tells him.

Zuko laughs and shakes his head. Jin pauses, her hand poised over the pot of snake plants. She stares at him, her face marked with a confused and disbelieving expression. Her expression suddenly softens and her lips pull upwards in a wide smile. She says, "Your laugh."

"What about it?"

"I've never heard you laugh like that before," Jin tells him.

"Oh."

"And your smile. It reaches your eyes." Zuko stares at her, completely incredulous as to why she is voicing out these observations. Jin starts drumming her fingers against her thighs. She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and mutters, "You should smile like that more often. It suits you."

"Thanks." His face flushes and Jin looks away and pretends to be absorbed in a pot full of azaleas.

"Hey, why don't you get these ones? They would look great with the color of your walls," Jin says as she gestures at a patch of blooming rhododendrons.

"Yeah, sure. Can you arrange them in a vase for me?" Zuko distractedly says. He doesn't care about the stupid flowers—he isn't here for that. He's here for something else.

"Okay, but I think that I need to put another set of flowers in with the rhododendrons. Maybe some peonies? Or some orchids—''

He interrupts her before she can continue rambling off more flower combinations.

"Actually, I was wondering…" He starts twiddling his thumbs and nervously looks at her. "… you're free this evening right?"

Jin nods her head. "Yes. As soon as I finish my shift here, I'm free for the rest of the night."

"And now that you no longer have to help Cheng with his stupid research paper—''

"His research paper was not stupid—''

"So now you have more free time on your hands, right?"

"I guess so."

"Do you think you could show me around the Upper Ring later? You know, since I'm new here and all," he asks her.

Jin shrugs and sends him a warm smile. "Sure. But I still have to do the flower arrangements for that vase you wanted and—''

"You don't need to do that. You can do it some other time," Zuko quickly tells her.

She raises a brow and smirks at him. "You're not really here to buy some plants are you?"

(He's kind of afraid because he has a feeling that she is on to him.)

Zuko laughs loudly again, a big, great rolling laugh that silences Jin and draws out a shocked expression from her face. Zuko shakes his head and holds his hands up in surrender. "You caught me. So what, are you going to show me around or not?"

Jin stands up and heads towards the table. "My shift doesn't end until an hour. You think you can wait that long, Mr. Teashop-Owner?"

Zuko nods his head and folds his arms. "Yeah, sure. But do you think you can open some windows in here? It's hot."

Jin rolls her eyes at him and teasingly smirks. "Whatever, _tea-boy_."

"Be respectful, _vegetable-girl_."

She pretends to be annoyed, but her mouth is curled into a smile. He's happy that he is here.

* * *

The Upper Ring is nice and it reminds him of the palace compound back in the Fire Nation. There are big houses and large, spacious gardens. Everything is clean and orderly and it isn't smelly or overcrowded with people. It' a nice break from the Lower Ring and Zuko thinks that he and his uncle really lucked out in getting a teashop here. All the structures are beautiful, especially since it's evening and all the houses have colorful lanterns hanging on their front doors and porches.

Jin shows him around and tells him the history behind each building and monument. She points at several houses and tells him about who lives there and what they are like. She shows him the theatre and tells him about her favorite play (The Weaver Girl and The Cowherd) and takes him to the Upper Ring library and makes him borrow a couple of (boring) scrolls. She shows him her favorite restaurant and her little brother's school.

"So…you came back," Jin says as she turns to look at him. Zuko tries to keep himself from looking at her because her eyes are really distracting, especially against the glow of the lamplights.

"Came back from what?"

"Came back from whatever it is you were doing."

"I wasn't doing anything."

Jin gives him a disbelieving look. "Sure, you weren't."

Zuko scowls at her and she just gives him a small shrug.

They stop walking and rest on a bench overlooking a good portion of the Upper and Middle Rings. As he looks at all the twinkling city lights, Zuko suddenly feels small, insignificant. He's surprised when he realizes that, that doesn't really bother him.

"Well, I did promise," Zuko says with a small chuckle.

Jin smirks and shakes her head. "Never figured you for the kind of guy who would keep promises."

"I'm not," Zuko says with a nod of his head. He gives her a small, subtle smile. He is thinking of saying something else but what comes out of his mouth instead is, "Maybe, I did keep a promise, that one time, just for you."

(Agni, what did he just say?)

Jin briefly meets his eyes before looking away. "Oh. And why is that?"

He knows that she's going to make him say it. He looks at her, hoping that she will change the topic or say something else or maybe say it _first_. But she isn't going to give. Her eyes are challenging and she has one brow raised at him. He opens his mouth but the words die before they can leave his throat.

There is no way that he's going there. He's lying to her about everything. He's lying to her about himself. He can't let this thing (whatever this thing is) between them progress until he tells the truth. He swallows thickly. But he can't do that either. He's not an idiot. He is like the people who killed her mother and father and destroyed her home. If she ever finds out, she's going to turn him into to the Dai Li or worse—_hate him_.

"Maybe it's because I like you," he finally tells her. Her smile widens but before she can speak, he continues, "Even though I shouldn't."

Jin stares at him incredulously but her smile doesn't waver. She folds her arms and says, "And why not? Is it because you and your uncle are firebenders?"

Zuko blinks at her once and his chest constricts. She knows? He grips the edge of the bench tighter and panic suddenly courses through him. A thick air of tension suddenly envelops the two of them and he suddenly feels nauseous. He stares at her, trying to gauge the expression on her face—she looks more amused than angry; it's almost as if she finds the anxious look on Zuko's face funny.

He decides to go with the whole denial tactic. He nervously sputters, "Firebenders? What are you talking about?"

Jin rolls her eyes. "Cut the garbage, Lee. I'm not stupid."

She's not screaming for help or trying to chuck rocks at him. Zuko figures that maybe she's not as repulsed by him as he first thought she would be—that or she's being nice to him so that he will lower his guard and she can strike.

But that's crazy. She's not out to get him. Not every girl is like Azula.

"How long have you known?" he finally manages to say.

"Since our first date."

"But how?"

Jin calmly shrugs. "I peeked."

Zuko's eyes widen. "What!?"

Jin puts a hand over her mouth as she attempts to stop herself from giggling. "Sorry. But it's not a big deal. I would've found out anyway, even if I did keep my eyes closed. I mean, unless you had a batch of magical fire sprites, there really was only one way you could've lit all those lamps."

It takes him a very long time to process all this. He stares at her, open-mouthed and Jin just patiently looks back at him.

"But…but if you knew...why aren't you yelling for help? Or trying to kill me? Or calling the Dai Li?" Zuko splutters.

Jin gives him a confused look. "Why on earth would I do that? They would take you away."

"But..but…you _know_."

Jin nods her head. "Yes."

"And it doesn't bother you that I'm a firebender? At all?" he says, thoroughly confused.

There's a brief flicker of hesitation in her eyes but then she firmly shakes her head. "Nope."

"But, why?" he demands, not quite believing it.

When she leans forward, he tenses but he doesn't pull away. She's a lot closer than he thought. He can count her lashes and see just how many flecks of gold are in her green eyes. He tries not to get too distracted so that he can pay attention to what she is about to say next.

She meets his eyes and whispers, "Maybe it's because I like you too."

The dam in his chest breaks.

He doesn't kiss her first and neither does she. It just happens. Her lips are soft and warm and at first, he doesn't really know what he is supposed to do. But then her hands find their way to the sides of his face and hair and he finds his hands slowly sliding their way to her hips. His heart is beating against his chest so hard that he's afraid that she will hear it.

He feels warm all over, a different kind of warmth he feels when he is firebending—a nice, comfortable kind of warmth—and for the first time, he genuinely thinks that he can be happy here in Ba Sing Se.


	11. Chapter 11

**11**

* * *

As Jin slips her hand into his and laces their fingers together, Zuko thinks that he can get used to having a girlfriend. They are walking together, along the pristine pathways of the Upper Ring, as the night watchmen slowly start lighting all of the lamplights. They only have a few hours before curfew starts but Zuko doesn't care—he's just happy that he gets to spend some more time with Jin.

Not that they don't spend time with each other outside of their evening walks. Jin usually comes by the teashop during her break and they go to her favourite restaurant and order noodles and beef. Then, in the afternoon, when his shift ends, he stays at the gardening shop to wait for her. But really, their walks around the Upper Ring is the only time where they're with each other _alone_—his uncle or Jin's (scary) grandfather aren't there to constantly pester them and they usually take advantage of that fact by constantly making out.

But the best thing for him is that everything is out in the open; he's no longer keeping any secrets. It's a big relief to finally be able to admit out loud that he likes her. There are no more complications. She knows he's a firebender and she doesn't hate him for it and really, that's the only thing that matters to him.

Sometimes though, he would think about the Avatar and his home and his father and how they all seem so far away. He knows that he still has a mission to finish and that he shouldn't get distracted but it's kind of hard to focus on capturing the Avatar with Jin right next to him.

"I like this park," Jin says as they stop and settle down underneath a tree. She spreads her arms out and runs her hand against the grass. Zuko grins at her, from her side and watches as a slow, delighted smile spreads across her lips.

Then, her bright expression slowly melts into a wistful look. "It's like the park where I used to practice earthbending with my dad."

He stiffens for a moment. She never talks about her parents, unless she's somehow forced to. He looks at her carefully, trying to gauge the expression on her face and she just gives him, a small, understanding smile. It's almost as if she's telling him that it's okay and that he can ask anything he wants because they are already at that point where she can talk with him about everything.

He says the first thing that he thinks of, "What was your dad like?"

Jin looks away and starts pulling at the blades of grass. "He was never there much because he was a soldier. But he always tried to make up for the time we couldn't spend together. He was a great teacher. I miss him."

He's suddenly a little jealous of the good relationship she has with her father.

(Because a dead father is better than a father who doesn't care about you.)

"I miss my mom, more though." A slow, careful smile spreads across her lips. "We'd go stargazing at a park like this or tend to the flower beds. It was her dream to go to the University, you know?"

"She lived here?" Zuko says in surprise.

Jin nods her head. "My mom and dad both lived here in Ba Sing Se."

"But if they lived here, then why did they move?" Zuko asks, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Jin starts drumming her fingers against her thighs. "It's kind of corny…"

Zuko raises his brows and gestures at her to continue.

"My mom lived here in the Upper Ring with my grandpa while my dad was a blacksmith in the Lower Ring. I don't know how they met exactly but they started seeing each other. My grandfather didn't approve so they had to do it in secret. Their favorite meeting place was the Firelight Fountain," she says.

His insides grow warm when he thinks of the place and how they had their first kiss there. He can now see why the place meant so much to Jin.

"But…well…gramps found out and he and mom had a big fight. She was arranged to be married to someone but she wouldn't go through with it. Then, she decided that she didn't care and that she just wanted to be with my dad so one night, they just got up and left Ba Sing Se," Jin finishes.

"What they did…that took guts," he says. He's seen Jin's grandfather and he knows that the man isn't someone you would want to mess with. He doesn't think that he will ever be able to do that; turn his back on his father, decide that he just doesn't care and leave.

"Yeah. Even though...she...um ...died and all, gramps still hasn't exactly forgiven her for running away. He doesn't ever want to talk about her." She shakes her head and scowls, frustrated. "It's so stupid though because my mom didn't run away because she hated him or anything like that. She just wanted to be happy. She wrote him a lot of letters and even planned to visit a couple of times. But it's okay, I guess, because it happened a long time ago."

He thinks he hears resentment in her voice but he isn't sure. Secretly, he thinks that it's a little impossible for Jin to ever resent someone, much less her grandfather. He's seen her around the man. Even though they are always bickering, it's pretty clear to him that she really cares about him (and vice-versa, even though it's not very obvious most of the time).

And she isn't the kind of person who seems to like holding grudges. She's very easygoing and she always lets the stupid things he does or say slide.

"I think your grandfather wanted to fix things with your mom too. Maybe...maybe he just didn't know how." Zuko thickly swallows and looks to the ground when he suddenly thinks about his father. He doesn't know why he says it but he does. "My father hasn't spoken to me in many years."

Jin looks at him carefully but she doesn't say anything. There's a questioning look in her eyes but he immediately closes up and his insides clench. Jin's eyes flash in understanding and she nods her head, as if she knows that he doesn't want to talk about it. It surprises (and scares) him that she knows him so well—well enough to know when to not ask questions and when to just let things go.

She leans closer towards him so that their foreheads touch and her lips are only an inch away from his. She quietly says, "Maybe he just doesn't know how."

(He seriously doubts it but he believes her anyway. She can make him believe anything if she wanted to.)

She kisses him, her hands fisting the front of his shirt and he kisses her back and pulls her closer and rubs small circles on her hips.

Yes, he can definitely get used to having a girlfriend. He can get used to this (his whole life here in Ba Sing Se), actually.

* * *

They're in the same park when he sees it. He gently grabs Jin by the wrist, cutting off her story about a particularly rude customer, before dragging her towards a small turtle-duck pond nestled underneath one of the park's many trees. His lips curl upwards into a huge smile as he sees several children with their mothers, tearing off chunks of bread and gently feeding them to the turtle ducks.

"You never told me this was here," Zuko tells her as they draw closer.

Jin looks at him, confused at his excitement. "What? The turtle-duck pond?"

"I can't believe that we've been coming here all this time and I've never noticed it," Zuko says as he shakes his head. He bends down and cautiously scoops up a turtle-duck floating nearby into his hands. He holds it out for Jin to see.

She stares at him, an amused twinkle in her eyes. "You love turtle-ducks?"

He glares at her and scowls (his first scowl in a really long time). He snaps, "So what!?"

Jin shrugs and gives him a small smile. "Just never figured you for someone who loves turtle-ducks, Mr. Tough-Guy."

Zuko glares at her and defensively says, "We have a lot of these back at home!"

She snickers and teasingly tells him, "In here, we have them for soup. I should take you to this restaurant sometime. They serve the best turtle-duck soup."

His eyes widen in horror. "You...do what!?"

She breaks out into loud laughter and shakes her head. She pokes Zuko on the arm and says, "_Relax_. I'm just kidding. I think that they're pretty cute."

Zuko glares at her but Jin merely responds with a smile. She carefully takes the turtle-duck from his hands and gently pats at its head. It preens with a small, contented sound and Jin giggles. Zuko's frown disappears into a smile. She looks up at him and says in a serious tone, "I forgot, though. You used to do this with your mom, right?"

Zuko nods his head. Strangely, the familiar constricting of his chest that he always expects at the mention of his mother does not come. He quietly tells her, "Yeah. We used to do it with my sister at first but then..._stuff_ happened."

After a second's pause, he says, "I miss her."

A thoughtful look crosses Jin's face. She starts stroking the turtle-duck's head as she looks at the pond contemplatively. He can tell that whatever she's thinking about must really bother her because she has this (cute, little) crease between her brows. Finally she says, "Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"The Fire Nation. Your home," she says. His fists clench when she says the word 'home.'

"Yes. All the time," he honestly says.

She nods her head like it's no big deal. Sometimes he wonders how she can do it—how she can be so understanding and take everything in stride.

She says, "I imagine you would. You don't have to answer but...I've always wondered..."

She trails off and looks at him questioningly, as if she's asking him for permission. Zuko looks at her in hesitation before saying, "Yeah?"

"Were you ever going to tell me? That you're a firebender?" Jin asks him.

"You already know that I'm a firebender," Zuko points out to her.

"It's an important question," Jin insistently tells him.

"No. I wasn't ever going to tell you," he says. He tells her the truth because he's sick of lies and he thinks that he owes her at least that.

Jin frowns at him, disappointed, as if it isn't the answer she wants to hear. "Why not?"

He pets the turtle duck and avoids her eyes. He says, "Because, you would hate me."

"I could never hate you," Jin says as she leans forward and kisses his forehead. She mumbles against his skin, "You could've told me."

"No, I couldn't have," Zuko tells her because a secret is a secret and he likes her too much—more than he's liked anyone in his entire life— to risk telling her _everything_.

* * *

Zuko doesn't exactly know what he's doing in Jin's room. He had come by to the gardening shop thinking that he would meet her but instead he only saw a couple of workers and her brother, Ro, earthbending a clump of dirt around. He planned on leaving but a servant grabbed his hand and led him inside their house and into the living room before he could protest.

He didn't mean to wander. It's just that he got bored and curious so he ended up walking along the corridors and hallways, examining the place. And now he's here, awkwardly standing in the doorway, as he looks around what he figures to be her room.

Jin's room is nice. It's big and spacious and she has a big window overlooking the greenhouse and garden. Her bed is right next to the window and she has a study table propped up at the side. She has a dresser that is crowded with an assortment of things and a bookshelf crammed with haphazardly thrown books and scrolls and ink brushes. There are a few pictures of flowers, most of them pure, white lotus flowers, hanging on the wall that he knows she painted herself.

He thinks that he's crossing some sort of line here and being stupid but he walks in and starts examining her dresser anyway. Restraint has never been something he's good at.

Her dresser is cluttered and immediately, he can tell that organization is not one of Jin's strong points. There's a small oval-shaped mirror and a jewelry box lying on one corner. There are several more scrolls, comb, brushes, hairpins and small headpieces scattered about the surface. He smiles when he sees a framed picture of the two of them and the knife that he gave her. She has a picture of her little brother, one of her grandfather and another one of all three of them. He stiffens when he sees a picture of her and Ro with their mom and dad—they look so happy in the picture that it makes his chest constrict to know that the Fire Nation has broken them apart.

He picks up a scroll at random and begins to read it. He smiles when he sees what is written on it.

"Lee!?"

He jumps when he hears her voice. He turns around and when he sees her leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded, he tries to keep himself in check. She's sweaty and her cheeks are flushed and she's wearing something that reveals her toned stomach. The area below his belt tightens and he shifts in his place uncomfortably.

"Lee!" she says when she notices his staring. She hastily covers her midriff with her arms. "They told me that you were waiting in the living room."

"Oh...um...uh...I was waiting there but then I got bored so..." He trails off and gulps when he sees her glare. In an effort to distract her and keep her from being angry, he raises a brow at her and says, "So...why weren't you in the gardening shop?"

"For your information, I was practicing earthbending with my grandpa. You're lucky that he left to go to Shih's house for his Pai Sho club meeting. He would kill you if he found you in my room." She arches a brow. "Why are _you_ here?

"Just looking around. I was curious." Zuko grins at her mischievously and holds the scroll up. Her eyes widen in horror when she realizes what he's got in his hand. He ignores the look of protest she sends him and reads out loud, "Stupid weeds of hate/have you met my scythe of doom?/death can be sudden."

He looks at her and tries to stop himself from laughing. "Seriously?"

She hurries over towards him and grabs the scroll from his hands. She defensively says, "It was for Madame Macmu-Ling's haiku class!"

"You attend haiku class?" Zuko smirks.

Her ears redden. She mutters under her breath, "Gramps made me. He said something about how it will help me broaden my horizons and how I'll need it someday."

He draws closer towards her and places both of his hands on her hips. He teasingly says, "You're a terrible poet."

"Shut up. My poem is excellent," she sniffs. She folds her arms and frowns at him. "I can't believe you looked through my stuff!"

"You have a lot of interesting stuff," Zuko murmurs. He tries to focus but she's really distracting right now. She has the heady of smell of the fresh, wet earth and the spring air and her flushed cheeks look amazing against the light.

She suddenly clears her throat and self-consciously tucks one of her side bangs behind her ear. She says, "What are you staring at?"

He snaps back into focus. "What? Oh—um...I'm not staring at anything..."

She takes a step back and nervously tugs at the hem of her loose fitting shirt. "Sorry. I was planning on taking a bath and changing before I would go to meet you but now you're here and—''

"I think you look great," Zuko interrupts her before she can continue rambling.

Jin snorts. "Yeah, right. I'm sweaty, smelly and really gross. Yup, I definitely look great."

"Shut up. You always look great." He grins at her and kisses her forehead. "So, what's with all these scrolls? You look like you're ready to open your very own library."

"I bought all the books and reading materials I would need for the University."

"You don't start until the fall. It's still spring."

"So? There's nothing wrong with being prepared. Gramps always says that planning for something is like winning—''

"—half the battle. I know. That's a favourite of my uncle too." He pauses and tries to ignore the really cute way her fingers drums against her thighs. He really wants to kiss her right now although he doesn't think that it would be appropriate to do so in the middle of their conversation. "That's a favorite of Guai Lo—''

"Wait, you know Guai Lo?"

He scoffs. "Of course. We studied his philosophy back in school. Even though he was from the Earth Kingdom, many firebending generals still found his tactics to be effective."

Her face lights up. "I read his book. Cheng lent it to me once and—''

"Wait. Cheng?"

Jin impatiently nods her head. "Yes. Cheng. Anyways, I thought that a lot of the stuff he said was—''

"Why would you be borrowing a book from Cheng?" he demands. He suddenly feels upset although he doesn't know why.

"Because he had the book and I needed to read it for my philosophy class. So, anyway, moving on—''

He folds his arms and glares at her. "What's your deal with this Cheng guy anyway? You two seem to know each other so well."

She loudly sighs. "We were classmates. And I had to be friends with him because I needed to convince his dad, Quon, to give your uncle a teashop—''

"Wait, why would you need to convince Quon to give us a teashop?"

She dismissively waves her hand. "Long story."

She then folds her arms and narrows her eyes against him. "And what's your deal with him anyway!? Cheng is a nice guy. And I don't think that you have any right to be so rude to him. His dad is the reason why you and your uncle are here."

Zuko folds his arms, thoroughly annoyed. "Whatever. He's still an annoying prick."

She looks really attractive when she's irritated. Her lips are set into a small pout and her eyes light up with such intensity. He tells himself that he needs to be focusing on the issue at hand. He sighs and says, "It's just that...I don't know. The thought of you and Cheng being in close proximity with each other makes me...irritated. I think he likes you."

Jin calmly nods her head. "Of course he does."

"Wait, so you know? You know that he likes you and yet, you still hang out with him!? What is wrong with you!?" He knows that he's probably being overdramatic right now but he doesn't really care. "You have a boyfriend!"

"_Relax_. I can't exactly avoid him. We were classmates, we're going to be classmates this fall and we have to attend the same stupid parties and social gatherings." She arches a brow. "And I didn't think that it would big deal. As I remember, you so clearly stated that you were only looking out for me and that you weren't jealous."

He's not jea...

Well.

Fine. He's absolutely jealous. He takes a step towards her and says, "Maybe I am jealous. I mean he has a lot more to offer. His dad's a rich businessman or whatever. He's going to get a degree and stuff and he's just a regular guy in Ba Sing Se and he doesn't have _this_."

He gestures at his scar.

He's surprised when Jin leans forward and kisses it. The closeness of their bodies suddenly make him feel very hot and his hands automatically find their way to her hips. His breath catches and he tries to ignore how much he suddenly wants her right now. Her lips move against his scarred flesh. "I don't know. I mean, I really like tea. It sounds like a pretty good offer to me."

And then he kisses her and she kisses him back and he suddenly thinks that it's possible to die from happiness. He slides his tongue into her mouth and she moans. The sound brings heat to his lower abdomen and his hands fall to her waist as she arches against his grasp. Their tongues slowly start moving in tandem and her hips start rolling against his.

He doesn't exactly know that he wants _it_ until he realizes that he's somehow taken her shirt off and she's wearing nothing but her pants and sarashi. He stops as Jin's hands curl at the edge of his tunic.

He has never done this before. There was a time where he thought he might have, when he was in the sea and his men were all planning to go to a whorehouse, but then he decided to decline in favour of hunting the Avatar down.

He presses his forehead against hers and says, "I've never done this before."

Jin smiles at him. "Neither have I."

"Are...are you sure? I mean, if this isn't what you want—''

She kisses him again and murmurs against his lips, "There's a first time for everything."

He somehow manages to lock the door and close the curtains before the two of them fumble towards the bed. She removes his tunic and he finally manages to unwrap her sarashi (why did she have to tie it so tight?). When they are in her bed, their inexperience starts to show and for a moment, neither of them know what they are doing. Then Jin starts lapping at his collarbone and his hands tighten on her hips and his breathing speeds up to winded pant.

"Tell me your name. Please. Your real one," she says as he starts kissing the valley of her breasts.

He meets her eyes and kisses the tip of her nose. "My real name doesn't matter."

It's just one more lie he has to tell her.

* * *

"What am I supposed to do? There is no way that I'll be able to explain this to my grandfather," she says as she gestures at the destroyed curtains. Zuko stares at it, embarrassed. When he had climaxed, he held his breath and somehow managed to set her curtains on fire. Well, he actually set a lot of things on fire but he figures that the curtains will be the hardest thing for her to explain.

She snuggles deeper into Zuko's side as he runs a hand through her hair. He suggests, "Maybe you can get some of your servants to hide it or you can say that you accidentally set it on fire with your candle—''

"Yes. I'm sure he'll believe that," she sarcastically quips.

"We'll figure something out," he promises to her. After a second's pause he says, "Did I hurt you?"

Jin shakes her head. "No."

"Did...did you hate it?" he cautiously asks. He hasn't done this before. She gasped and trembled and moaned his name out loud several times so he figures that he must have done something right. Still, he wants to be sure.

Jin kisses him. "No. Did you hate it?"

"No. I liked it. A lot," he answers.

Jin laughs and he finds himself laughing with her.

They don't say anything for a long time and he just relishes the feel of her by his side. She suddenly shifts in her place so that she's on top of him. Before he can ask her what she is doing, her hand reaches out to brush against his scarred flesh. He can see the question in her eyes and he knows what she's asking him.

He is thinking about how far he should lie when the words slip out of his mouth. "My...my father."

She doesn't ask anything more. Instead she kisses it, tenderly and it makes his insides warm. Her hand then finds its way to another scar, on his arm. He says, "Pirates."

She giggles. "Pirates?"

"Don't laugh," he snaps.

She kisses it again. His frown widens into a smile. Her hand continues moving along his body, tracing and touching at his scars. She's asking him questions without really saying anything and he answers all of them.

"A waterbender. My sister. My uncle—''

"Your uncle?"

"We were training."

"Ah."

"An ostrich-horse...it kicked me."

"Oh."

She kisses every single one of them. It's almost as if she's trying to somehow make him feel better. He doesn't know why she's doing that. He feels better already, with her next to him.

"Are you happy?" she asks him.

He looks at her hazel-green eyes and her lazy smile and the way her hair tumbles against her shoulders and he says, "Yes."

And that's that, really.

* * *

His uncle doesn't say anything when he comes home with his head disheveled and with marks along his neck. He just holds a scroll up and says, "We've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King."

* * *

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

* * *

Lee and his uncle are missing and she's afraid. Their apartment is empty and their teashop is closed. Lee hasn't gone to see her in days. Her grandfather told her that Mushi hasn't gone to any of their Pai Sho tournaments either. Even though they don't show it that much, she knows that her grandfather and his Pai Sho buddies are worried as well. Just three days ago, her grandfather and his friend, Huang had gone to the Dai Li's office (even though they really hate that place) to file a missing persons report for Lee and Mushi.

She thinks about Lee for the entire week. She hasn't eaten or slept properly in days. She has been wandering around the city, looking for him and asking around. She hopes that they didn't somehow run into any trouble with the Dai Li (although knowing Lee, she's sure that, that scenario is highly plausible). She knows what happens to those who do. She can't even think about what might have happened to him if the Dai Li really did get a hold of him; she can't stand the thought of him being imprisoned or tortured (or killed). She can't lose him.

She stiffens when she hears a rapping sound coming from her window. She sits up and nearly falls off her bed when she sees that it is Lee. He is there, tapping at the glass while he hangs on by trying to balance on her window frame. Her fingers fly onto the latches as she hastens to open the window.

Lee tumbles in and lands on her bed. She nearly falls backwards but he grabs her hand before she can. When they both regain their footing, she immediately launches herself towards him and tackles him into a hug. "Spirits, Lee!"

Before he can say anything else, she kisses him. She feels a million things at once and as she kisses him harder, his hands tangle into her hair and her tongue slips into his mouth and really, they could have gone on and on but she tears her mouth away from his and punches him in the arm.

"Ow! Hey! What's your problem!?" he snaps.

"You ass!" She jabs a finger at his chest. "Do you have any idea how worried I was!? I couldn't eat or sleep in days! I had nightmares of you lying in a ditch somewhere!"

"I'm sorry." He starts twiddling his thumbs and Jin takes the time to properly look at him. He doesn't look like someone who's been tortured or imprisoned. He looks very good actually; he's wearing clothes made out of pure silk and his hair, despite being messy, smells really, really good.

"You better be," she says. She tries to sound irritated but she's just relieved that he's okay. "Where's Mushi? Is he okay? What happened to you two?"

The questions all come flying out of her mouth in a rush.

Lee looks to the side and immediately, she can tell that he's hiding something.

"We've been um...we've...look, I don't have time to explain. It took me forever to get here without Azula noticing. I only have a few more minutes before—''

"Wait. Who's Azula?" Jin asks with narrowed eyes. The name sounds vaguely familiar.

Lee loudly sighs and presses the heel of his palm to his forehead. "Jin, listen, I don't have time to explain but...look, can you just start packing? I'll explain on the way."

"On the way to where?" Jin asks, thoroughly confused.

"To the Fire Nation," Lee says. He looks at her and she can tell that he's trying to figure out what she's about to say next. Jin stares at him, uncomprehendingly. She doesn't understand what's going on. She doesn't even understand what he's asking her to do.

"Um...what?"

"The Fire Nation...it's not as bad as you think. It's beautiful," he says as he tucks one of her side bangs behind her ear. His hand trails down her side and make its way towards her hips. "The sunsets there are beautiful, even more beautiful than here in Ba Sing Se. The food is a little spicy but otherwise, they're sort of the same with the things we eat here in the Earth Kingdom."

He starts rubbing circles with his thumbs at the side of her hips. "In the summer, we can go to the beach and swim. There are wide open spaces for Ro to play earth soccer in and a library for your grandfather and there are gardens. Lots and lots of gardens. There are flowers there that aren't here like ash lilies and sunflowers. In my...my house...there's a garden too. With a turtle duck pond..."

He trails off. Her jaw drops and she stiffens as the implications what of he has just said slaps her like a cold bucket of water. He takes a step closer and kisses her before she can reply and she tries to resist because what he has just said was the most absurd, ridiculous, craziest (and sweetest) thing she has ever heard. But she can't because his breath is warm against her mouth and he's fondling her breasts and grinding against her.

He's trying to distract her and it's working.

Her body heats as he starts nipping at her neck. She tries to force back a moan as he continues, "And...and I'll make sure that no one ever says a word about you and your family. You can wear anything you like, even Earth Kingdom clothes. I'll ask the cooks to make you some Earth Kingdom food. You don't have to change who you are. I'll make sure of it. I promise."

It takes all of her willpower to step away from him. She looks at him and she sees the pleading look in his eyes.

"Lee...are you and your uncle...leaving for the Fire Nation?" she slowly asks.

Lee looks to the side again and he starts twiddling his thumbs. It looks as if he's internally debating on what he is going to say next.

"Yes. In a way." He sighs and shakes his head. "It's complicated. I can't tell you everything. I haven't even told Azula yet. I still have to explain it to her. But she'll understand..._hopefully_. Look, we have to go _now_ and you have to convince your grandfather too because—''

"Lee." She takes a deep breath and touches the side of his wrist. "I can't."

"What?" he says. First there is confusion and then hurt slowly fills his eyes.

"My...my grandfather would never allow it—''

"You don't understand! Something bad is going to happen in a couple of days from now! I need you guys to come with me," Lee says, frustrated. Jin wonders what bad thing he is talking about. "I know...I know it will be a big adjustment but once you get there, the Fire Nation won't seem as bad as you think!"

"You don't get it!" she says in a half-yell. "I won't do it because I _can't_! I can't, Lee! I can't live in your country, surrounded by the people who burned down my village and killed my mom and dad!"

Her voice cracks and becomes strained. Her fists are balled and a lump forms in her throat.

"I'm not going to leave you here," Lee firmly says. He grabs her hand and squeezes it. "You don't know what's about to happen. I can't let you get hurt—''

"Why does it matter anyway!? You're going home now. It's what you always wanted, right!?" she harshly says. She feels so upset and she doesn't know why. Maybe it's because she feels like he's abandoning her. Or dumping her. Or both.

"It matters because I love you!" he explodes.

"Well, I love you too! But you can't just come breaking into my room in the middle of the night, telling me that you want to take me away to the Fire Nation! It doesn't work like that!" Jin retorts.

"Wait...you love me?" he says and his lips quirk into a kernel of smile.

Jin's cheeks redden and she decides not to answer that. He's leaving for the Fire Nation and she's stuck here and she doesn't want to go with him. Even she's smart enough to know that telling him that she loves him will only make things worse.

She takes a deep breath and says, "I'm sorry. I'm not going with you."

"Jin—''

"Jin! Who's in your room!? What's with all the screaming!? You interrupted my sleep!" her grandfather irately says through the door.

"You better leave," she tightly tells him as she quietly shepherds him towards the window. "My grandfather will kill you if he finds you here."

He starts to protest, "Jin, listen for a minute—''

She kisses him to shut him up. When they break apart Lee has this look in his face and immediately, she can tell that he understands and that he (grudgingly) accepts her decision. He quietly says, "So...I guess this is goodbye..."

"Goodbye Lee."

"Goodbye Jin." He thickly swallows and he doesn't move. There's a stubborn gleam in his eyes that is mixed with worry and fear. In a firm voice he says, "I promise...I'll make sure nothing ever happens to you or your family. And...and...I just want you to know that I'm...I'm _sorry_."

Before she can ask him what he's talking about, he nimbly leaps to the ground and disappears into the night.

* * *

Jin dreams of the night the Fire Nation invaded her village.

She is walking with Ro as he happily skips along next to her mother. Her mother grins at him before taking Jin's hands. They are walking through the small patch of land filled with flowers and plants behind their house. Jin knows that her mother wants something bigger, so she can have more room to plant all her flowers in, but this lot was as big as her father could afford to buy, when he and her mother first came into this village a long time ago.

"Look at this, Jinny," her mother says she lets go of Jin's hand and gestures at a small patch flowers nestled between two rocks. "This is saxifrage. Your father gave them to me when he came back from his trip in Omashu. It looks delicate and fragile but it is actually very strong. Its name means 'stone-breaker.'"

"It can break rocks?" Jin asks, impressed.

"Yes. It grows in mountains. Your father picked them up when he and his troop were walking through the mountain pass to Omashu," her mother says with a smile.

Ro pipes up, "I miss dad. Is he coming home soon?"

Her mother's brows draw together. It is then that Jin realizes that she looks very tired. There are circles under her eyes and creases in her arms and she is thin underneath her tunic. Her face is gaunt and her grey-green eyes are filled with worry. Something's bothering her, Jin realizes. She wants to ask what is wrong but before she can her mother says, "Yes. He isn't supposed to come back until his division is pulled out from Gaoling. But he sent me a letter saying that he will be coming home a bit earlier."

"Why?" Jin asks.

Her mother looks away and says, "There are rumours about the Fire Nation needing earthbenders for their coal mines and...oh, it's nothing. Your father is just being...overly-cautious as usual. That's all."

No, Jin knows that, that isn't all. Her mother isn't telling her everything and it bothers her. She wants to ask more questions but her mother leans down and kisses her on the forehead. "I think that it's time for you two to go to bed. You have a long day tomorrow. School's about to start."

"But I want to make mud cakes," Ro protests.

Her mother laughs and scoops him up into her arms as she shakes her head. "No playing in the mud for you, Hiroki. Time to sleep."

They go to her and Ro's room and her mother tucks the two of them in bed. She sings them a song and tells them a story and as she bundles Jin up with her blankets, she inhales her mother's scent of wet earth and spring air. Ro is restless and it takes him forever to sleep but when he finally does, her mother's lips ghost over her hair and she says, "Goodnight, Jinny."

"Goodnight, mom," Jin sleepily says as she buries herself against her covers.

* * *

The smell of smoke invades her nostrils and she bolts upright in her bed. She looks to the side and frowns when she sees that her brother's bed is empty. The house is several degrees hotter and when she looks outside, she's horrified to see that everything is on fire—the village houses, the sheep-pig pens, the sky. Men dressed in skull masks carrying fiery whips are lashing at people and capturing them left and right.

The door suddenly bursts open and her mother steps inside, carrying a crying Ro in her arms. Jin's eyes widen in horror when she sees that his leg is bleeding. Ro is wailing and hiccupping and his tiny fists are balled up. From behind them, Jin can hear footsteps—the sound of leather boots colliding against the wooden floor.

"Mom? What's going on—''

"I went to get some water but the scary people in masks burned my leg," Ro sobs and her mother quickly shushes him.

"Jin, I don't have time to explain." Her mother's voice is breaking, stuttering through gasps. The footsteps grow louder and her mother rushes to her side. She gently grabs Jin's hand and tugs at her to stand up.

"Here, take your brother," her mother says as she frantically passes Ro into her arms. Jin's arms shake as Ro clings onto her and sobs against her shoulder. Her mother then rushes to a corner of their room and slides open a panel leading downwards to a bunker.

"Mom...what's that?" Jin whimpers. The air smells of smoke and there are sounds of people screaming and she doesn't know what's going on. Tears leak from the corner of her eyes and she takes big, gulps of air as she tries to calm down.

"Come here," she says as she carries Jin and carefully deposits her and Ro into the bunker.

"Listen to me, Jin. The firebenders are here to take whatever earthbenders they can get. I need you to stay here until I come back to get you, okay?" The tears won't stop flowing and her vision turns watery. Her mother bends down and kisses her forehead. "I need you to be calm, okay? You have to be strong, like the saxifrage, for you little brother. You're his big sister. I need you to protect him, no matter what. Do you understand?"

Jin nods her head and splutters, "Y-yes."

"And Ro?"

"Yes, mommy?" Ro whimpers as he lifts his head from Jin's shoulder.

Her mother kisses him on the cheek. "Be a good little brother."

She envelops the two of them into a hug and says, "I love you both so much. Don't leave until I come back for you, okay? _Don't_ leave until I come back for you."

They both shakily nod their heads. The footsteps grow louder and her mother looks up, to the door. She starts sliding the panel closed. "I'll come back—''

"Mommy!" Jin's hand shoots out and grabs her mother's hand. She tries to keep her voice steady and even. "I'm scared."

"Everything will be alright, Jinny," her mother says as she gently unclasps Jin's hand from hers. Ro cries harder and Jin finds it more difficult to focus on her mother's words. Her mother re-assuringly says, "I'll handle this. It's okay. Everything will be alright. I'll be back to get you and Hiroki. I love you."

She slides the panel closed before Jin can tell her that she loves her back.

* * *

They've been sitting there for what seems like forever. Jin has cleaned up Ro's wound as best as she could and bandaged it by tearing a strip of cloth from her nightclothes. He has stopped crying and has curled up in her lap and fallen asleep. The screaming and loud noises have stopped and she wants to go outside but she doesn't because her mother told her not to. Not at least until she comes back.

The panel suddenly slides open and Jin looks up.

"Dad?" Jin says when she sees her father's wild, dark hair and hazel-green eyes. The happiness she starts feeling at the sight of her father is squashed immediately when she takes in his appearance. There are scars over his face and she can see that he's bleeding through his shirt. He lifts Ro up first before taking her into his arms.

"Dad?" Ro sleepily mumbles.

"Go back to sleep, Ro," her father tiredly says. Ro nods and complies, his head sagging as he buries himself against their father's chest.

"Where's mom?" Jin asks, her voice cracking.

He doesn't answer her. Instead, he stands up, with both Ro and Jin in his arms and brusquely starts walking outside. He says, "We need to hurry."

"Dad, where's mom?" Jin asks again. Her father smells like burnt flesh and there are black marks and ashes all over the house.

Her father doesn't answer her. He just keeps on walking and he doesn't stop until they are outside. Jin holds back a sob when she sees their village. It is completely demolished—several houses are burned to the ground, dead people are lying everywhere, children, mothers, fathers are crying.

Her father walks towards a carriage and gently deposits Ro into the back first. Jin suddenly starts trembling and she grips the front of her father's singed shirt tighter. "Dad...dad what are you doing?"

"Hai will take you to Ba Sing Se with his family. I already...already sent a letter to your grandfather. If he received it...he should be waiting for you at the station," her father says. His voice sounds so quiet, so different from the normally deep and rumbling tone he carries.

"We can't do that! We...we...me and Ro can't leave! We have to go back to the bunker! You have to take us back to the bunker!" She's screaming and shaking so badly that she wakes Ro up. Ro looks up and when he sees his sister crying, his hand quickly reaches out to touch hers.

"Jin..." her father softly says. "You can't go back there anymore. You're going to Ba Sing Se. You'll be...you'll be safe there with your grandfather—''

"Mom told us not leave until she comes back to get us! She told us!" Jin shrieks. Ro grips her hand tighter and he starts crying.

"Jin..." Her father's voice sounds broken. "I'm sorry...but...I'm sorry that I came here too late but we got tied up on the pass..."

"We can't leave dad! Not without mom! What if she goes back and we're not there and—''

"Jin. You're scaring your little brother."

"_I don't care!_ We can't leave without mom!" Jin breaks out into a sob and whatever she is about to say next dies in a fit of loud, hysterical crying.

"Jin... mom's never coming back." Her father says the words in a rush, as if he's hoping that somehow, it will make things easier. The smoke in the air seems heavier and Jin suddenly can't breathe. Ro starts crying harder, louder. A wave of nausea washes over her and the entire place spins. She's suffocating. She desperately needs to throw up.

She doesn't remember much about what happens next. She vaguely remembers her father kissing her on the head and saying, "I have to stay here to help with everybody else but as soon as I can, I'll meet up with you and Ro in Ba Sing Se. Keep your little brother safe. I love you."

The carriage suddenly starts moving and it is only when she and Ro start moving farther away from their father that she realizes that he isn't coming with them. She tries to get out but Hai's wife holds her back as she cries out, "Dad!"

He leaves before she can tell him that she loves him back.

* * *

The smell of smoke, in the air pulls her away from her thoughts and the teahouse is suddenly several degrees warmer. She grips at the edge of the table and bites her bottom lip as she desperately tries to remain calm. Sprits, it can't be. No, it can't be happening. Not again. She's in Pao's teashop enjoying a cup of tea. That's it.

Pao suddenly stiffens in his place. He hesitantly walks towards the door and pushes it slightly open. He gives a loud, frightened gasp. All of the customers crowd around him.

Jin tries to muscle her way past everyone else. When she gets to the door, her stomach drops when she sees it—rows and rows of Fire Nation soldiers marching through the streets with their tanks and war machines. Several people have gathered outside with terrified looks on their faces. From inside she can hear all of the other customers loudly talking and running.

Hiroki.

Jin quickly elbows her way past Pao and tears across the streets. She slips past the soldiers and all of the panicked people. She keeps running and she doesn't stop, her muscles straining against her calves. When she gets to her house, she speeds towards the hallways, screaming, "Ro! Ro! Where are you!? Gramps—''

"Stop yelling!" her grandfather explodes as he emerges from his room. Ro is right behind him, trembling. Jin quickly scoops him up into her arms and rubs soothing circles on his back as he shakes.

"Gramps...what's going on!?" Jin asks. She swallows a lump in her throat. She's afraid to hear the answer.

"What does it look like!?" he irately snaps. His bushy eyebrows draw together and he grimly says, "The Fire Nation has invaded Ba Sing Se. The Earth kingdom has fallen."

* * *

Nobody but her grandfather goes outside. Jin doesn't want him to—she's afraid that they might do something to him—but he does so anyway because he's _the_ Luong Fu and he can do whatever he wants. He yells at all of their servants to stop screaming and yelling before turning to Jin and telling her to stay put and keep everyone calm until he comes back. She stiffens because she has heard those words before and her mother and father _never_ came back.

Before she can protest, he walks out of the door. She and all the servants gather in the living room, watching all of the marching Fire Nation soldiers through the window, waiting for them to come into the house to kill them all. Her brother doesn't say anything; he just holds her hand tightly. She suddenly thinks of Lee and worry washes over her. Mushi had once told her that they were traitors; if the Fire Nation ever found them, the two of them would be killed. But that can't happen to them. They must be in the Fire Nation by now.

Her grandfather doesn't come back until two hours later. When he walks through the door, she sighs in relief. Jin quickly stands up and says, "Well?"

"Well, what!? The Fire Nation has finally taken Ba Sing Se, that's what!" her grandfather waspishly says.

"What? But how? There wasn't even an invasion—''

"They didn't need an invasion! Apparently, they somehow managed to stage a coup from the inside. All of the members of the Council of Five are prisoners!" her grandfather says. Then he adds, in an annoyed mutter, "Of course, if Long Feng didn't fire me and replace me with that upstart How, this probably wouldn't have happened—''

"But how did they even get into Ba Sing Se?" Ro says, his voice tense and afraid.

"Well, according to Huang—''

"You got all of these from Huang? You do realize that he's the most unreliable, gossiping, rumourmonger in all of Ba Sing Se?" Jin interrupts.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking! And for your information, Huang got this from Soh, who got this from Lia who is better at getting the facts straight!"

Jin rolls her eyes. "Yup. That certainly sounds like reliable information, gramps."

"Don't use sarcasm on me!" he snaps. He then sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Now, quit yammering so I can finish! So, Huang told me that the Dai Li and Long Feng were somehow in on it. They helped a bunch of firebending women who dressed up as Kyoshi Warriors stage the coup. Now, if only General Sung had listened to me when I proposed to stuff Long Feng in a sack full of poisonous wasp-scorpions, this wouldn't have happened. That bastard always—''

"Curse word," Ro says in a small voice.

"—seemed shady to me. But would Sung listen to me? _No_. Instead, he helped get me fired!" her grandfather finishes in rage. "And furthermore, those fake Kyoshi Warriors wouldn't have gotten into the city if they enforced better immigration laws! Our immigration bureau is terrible! I've been writing angry letters to them for years about their lousy work ethic but—''

"Wait...so...what happened to the Earth King? Is he dead?" Jin reluctantly says, her insides growing steadily colder as her grandfather recounts what has happened.

"No. But who cares? That idiot is stupid and ignorant. It wouldn't matter if he was alive or dead. He managed to escape with the Avatar though—''

"The Avatar was here?" Niang pipes up.

"Yes, for months now—''

"Hey! You didn't tell us! Me and Jin always wanted to meet the Avatar," Ro says. He still looks afraid but a bit of color has returned to his face. "I always wanted to have his autograph."

Her grandfather impatiently stomps a foot. "Pah! It doesn't matter! He can't sign anything anymore! He's comatose—''

"_What!?"_ Jin and several other servants say in unison.

He grimly nods. "Yes. One of the firebenders, lightning-bent him. But at least he's alive and at least he managed to escape. Anyways, with the Earth King gone and with the Dai Li at their disposal...well, you all know what happened next. I don't want to waste my time spelling it out for you because it's happening right now!"

It takes her and everyone else a few minutes to process everything he has just said. Finally, her grandfather claps his hands together and speaks up, "Alright. Quit gawking and get back to work! All of you! Just because our city has been conquered and we're as good as dead does not mean that we have to stop tending to the flowers!"

As if in a daze, everyone stands up and slowly disperses. Many of their servants and workers are talking in whispers amongst themselves. Niang is silently crying and Ro's face turns pale again as he walks back to his room. The air around them is suddenly thick and heavy.

Jin stays behind and continues to watch the flow of Fire Nation soldiers. Her grandfather snaps at her, "Well!? What are you waiting for!? Get dressed so you can open up the shop!"

She ignores him.

She looks at him, her face worried and drawn. She says, "Are Lee...and his uncle okay?"

Her grandfather's expressions softens and he says in an uncharacteristically comforting voice, "Jinny, I don't how to tell you this but...um...well...now...this isn't verified but—''

"But what!?"

"Didn't I just tell you to not interrupt me when I'm talking!" he snaps. Then he calms down and places a hand on her shoulder and in a gentler tone, he says, "They say that he was a part of the coup."

"What!? But...that's impossible! Lee can't possibly do that!" She sounds hysterical and she starts wringing her hands in the air. "He's a good person! He wouldn't do that! You said so yourself! Mushi and Lee were good people!"

Her grandfather suddenly looks annoyed. "Well, I'm sure that Mushi _is_ a good person. But Pee—''

"Lee," she corrects.

"—on the other hand, I wasn't so sure. I figured that he would be because he's Mushi's nephew and all but apparently that boy is total ass. He attacked and turned on his uncle! Such disrespect! I don't know how Mushi can stand him! Now the poor man is rotting away in some prisonhold!" He frowns at her. "I knew that I should've said something about that Gee boy—''

"Lee—''

"—because he seemed shady to me. But I didn't because Mushi said his nephew was a fine boy and vouched for him and I knew that you would argue. And arguing with you is exhausting," he finishes.

Jin blinks at him once and her fingers drum against her thighs. She runs through the entire story again in her head. Then, she thinks about Lee; how he would smile, how he would kiss her on the forehead if she was upset, how he lit all those lamps for her in the Firelight Fountain, how his hand felt in hers. No, it's impossible. Lee knows what the Fire Nation has done to them. He wouldn't willingly help the Fire Nation, even if they are his people.

She shakes her head and firmly says, "No. It can't be true."

"Jinny, I don't want it to be true. But Huang said that Soh said that Lia said that, that Bee—''

"Lee—''

"—is a traitor. It certainly ties in to a lot of things. Like how they have been missing for days," her grandfather quietly says.

Jin closes her eyes and she tries to remain calm. Suddenly, the night Lee came to try to convince her to go to the Fire Nation makes sense. The invasion was the reason why he wanted to take her and her family away. He wanted to protect her.

It would have been sweet if he didn't cause the invasion in the first place.

Still, she won't believe it. He can't just betray her trust like that.

"I don't believe you," she resolutely says.

Her grandfather looks at her with intensity, his brows drawn and his lips set into a thin, bloodless line. She matches his glare and doesn't break eye contact. They stand there for a really, long time. Finally her grandfather nods and says, "Pah! Why should I waste my time trying to convince you!? Believe what you want!"

"But—''

"And since you're going to find out anyway, I might as well tell you," he gruffly says. He takes a scroll from his sleeve and hands it to her. Her eyes widen when she sees that it is a picture of Lee and Mushi. It's a Wanted poster stating that a heavy bounty will be given to anyone who catches—

"The disgraced Prince Zuko and General Iroh," she reads. Her hands tremble. She's heard those names before. "Lee and Mushi...are...are..."

Her grandfather nods. "Yes. Fire Nation nobility. I didn't want to tell you because I knew that you would freak out and do something stupid like tell the Dai Li. I met General Iroh in the Siege of Ba Sing Se but we became good friends afterwards..."

She closes her eyes. She can't focus on anything he's saying. The first emotion that washes over her is confusion. Then, realization hits her and as soon as she figures out the entire story, the _real_ story, anger starts surging within her, hot and fast. Her jaw clenches and she crumples the paper in her hands. She should've seen this coming. He's a firebender. She doesn't know what made her grandfather ever think that it's okay to trust them. Firebenders can't be trusted. They are monsters.

She thinks of her home and how it was razed to the ground. She thinks of her mother dying as she tried to protect them and her father, holding her in his arms, smelling of seared flesh. She thinks of her little brother and the scars on his leg. She thinks of every single person the Fire Nation has taken away from her.

And suddenly, she realizes that she _angry_. She's never the type of person to be angry. She's been really, _really_ angry only twice in her life—the first was when her brother ate the last of the beef jerky (she's sensitive about her food, okay?) and the second was when Lee acted like a total prick because he was jealous of Cheng but wouldn't admit it. But this anger, this anger is nothing like she has ever felt before and she desperately wants to hit someone (preferably Lee). What she feels is pure, unadulrated rage.

She trusted him. She accepted him for who he was. She liked him and loved him and spirits, she even gave up her virginity to him. And he just turns around and decides to destroy her home and tear her life apart.

"Jin! Jin! Are you listening to me—''

She turns towards her grandfather and all of her anger is suddenly directed to him. She points an accusing finger at him, "This...this is all _your_ fault! You said we could trust them!"

"Jin, let me explain—''

"You said we could trust them!" she says again and her voice cracks, from despair or anger, she does not know.

Her grandfather looks at her compassionately and he suddenly takes a step forward and hugs her. She stiffens because he hasn't hugged her like this in a very long time and the contact seems very foreign to her. She wants to scream or cry or tear something apart. Instead, she just hugs him back and feels the prickly sensation of his bushy, white beard.

He awkwardly pats her on the head and murmurs, "I'm sorry, Jin. I really thought that we could too."

* * *

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

* * *

A few days ago, the Fire Nation posted a memorandum on how to behave in the new regime.

It isn't really any different from what they are used to back when the Dai Li ruled the place—there's still curfew and subversive talk and behavior is punishable by immediate imprisonment (or death). They added a bunch of new rules though; it is illegal to have a meeting of more than ten people, all the government officials will be replaced with duly assigned Fire Nation bureaucrats (and no one is to question that), travel between Rings is momentarily suspended, the University will remain closed until a new curriculum is established and Fire Nation soldiers can be quartered in any house (whether the owners like it or not).

They had all the businesses closed and their respective owners are required to present themselves to the designated authorities to get a permit. Her grandfather had planned on going himself, but before he could, the soldiers took him away for questioning. Apparently the Fire Nation wanted to interrogate all of Ba Sing Se's generals—retired or otherwise. He had been gone for two days now so Jin had to get the permit herself.

She tries to tell herself that he's fine and that his interrogation just got delayed. She knows that she sounds ridiculously optimistic but she tries not to focus on that. She has other things to worry about.

She is terrified. She's terrified of what they will do to her grandfather. She's terrified that they will take her and her brother away because they need earthbenders for their coal mines. She's terrified that they'll burn her house and the whole city down. She wants to run away or curl up in a corner and hide and never come out until it's over.

But she has to remain calm. Her grandfather left her in charge and told her that he expected her to take care of everybody. She can't do that if she is frantic and afraid. Everyone is scared enough as it is; her brother, the servants and the workers are all holed up in the house, anxious and afraid, just waiting for the Fire Nation to come barging into the door.

She has to keep them together. She has to protect them. She refuses to be the helpless little girl she had been, hiding in the bunker with Ro, while her parents died for her. She's going to make sure that nothing happens to Ro or her grandfather or the servants. She has already lost her father and mother—she can't lose them too.

She's snapped out of her thoughts when she sees Huang standing in front of the greenhouse, calmly eating a bean paste pun. There are crumbs and sauce peppered all over his face and the front of his tunic.

Huang is one her grandfather's friends. He owns a noodle shop in the Middle Ring and he has ten sons, the youngest of which was Jin's classmate back in secondary school. He is tall and huge with a large, round belly and fat, plump cheeks. He has a small tuft of gray hair on his head and a long beard that is braided.

"Ah. There you are. I've been waiting for hours," Huang says as he wipes at the sauce from his face with the back of his hand. Jin tries not to wince at how disgusting he looks.

"I had to get a business permit. The whole process was just awful," she sighs as she holds the permit up. She spent two hours waiting in line, being shoved between strangers and jostled back and forth. And when she got to the end of the line, it only took the Fire Nation official ten seconds to hand her the small slip of paper.

Huang nods and he gestures at her to move forward. "Come on. We have to move fast and quietly. We don't want to attract any attention."

"What? Where are we going?" Jin frowns.

He suddenly grabs her by the wrist and she tries not to get too repulsed at the fact that he is smearing bean paste sauce all over it. He drags her forward and says, "When we pass by the Square, I need you to look as casual as possible. Keep your eyes down and don't make eye contact."

"Wait, what's going on? Where are you taking me?" Jin asks as she tries to keep herself from tripping over. Huang is walking so fast that she can barely keep up with him.

"Shh! No more time for talking! They're watching us," he says. He gestures at several of the Fire Nation soldiers walking around the streets. Jin tries to control the beating of her heart and she forces herself to relax. She draws closer towards Huang, who has slowed down. He looks at her and tells her, "Smile. Pretend that we're having a normal conversation."

Jin doesn't know what's going on but she forces out a smile anyway. Those Fire Nation soldiers scare her more than she is willing to admit. She does exactly what Huang told her to do; she keeps her head down and tries to be as discreet as possible.

"Huang, what's happening?" she whispers. She tries to keep the fear out of her voice.

He starts walking faster and she nearly trips. He steadies her by grabbing her elbow and says, "Be careful."

Jin scowls. "Sheesh, slow down, will you?"

"We have to move fast. We're already late and your grandfather would hate it if we don't start the meeting on time," he says.

"Wait, what? You know where Gramps is? But...but...they took him away for questioning." Her voice cracks.

Huang smiles at her and re-assuringly says, "He is fine. But we have to move faster, okay?"

Jin nods her head. "Okay."

She doesn't ask any more questions. She lets him lead her past all the soldiers and Dai Li agents. They don't stop until they reach Dr. Shu's house. Before she can ask any questions, Huang knocks on the door. A man opens it for a fraction of an inch and says, "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

Huang smiles and cheerfully says, "One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."

She's heard that statement before but before she can dwell on it, Huang pulls her in. He nods at the doorman and gestures at her to hurry up. Huang leads her past the hallways and rooms and they stop when they reach a small door, tucked away in an alcove. He opens it and gestures for Jin to go inside first. She reluctantly steps inside and starts walking down the stairs, feeling more and more nervous by the second. Why did Huang lead her to the basement room? Is her grandfather really here?

She stops when she hears his voice.

"What in the Spirits' name are you doing here!?"

She looks up and a wave of relief washes over her when she sees him—her grandfather is there, looking horrified, irritated and surprised, all at once. Jin's relief dissipates almost immediately, however, when she sees that there are more than ten people in the room. Spirits, they are breaking the law. If the Fire Nation catches them here—

She decides to end that train of thought.

Huang comes up from behind her and clamps a hand over her shoulder. He cheerfully says, "Welcome to the Ba Sing Se Resistance."

* * *

Jin isn't exactly sure what's the first thing that comes into her mind when she hears the words "Ba Sing Se Resistance" but it certainly isn't a bunch of frail-looking old men and women gathering around a long table packed with Pai Sho boards, plates full of cakes and noodles and cups of juices and teas.

She recognizes a few of them. There is Dr. Shu, the Dean of the University, Shih, her brother's earthbending teacher, Soh, a blacksmith, and Lia, a seamstress. There are few teenagers, sons and daughters and grandchildren that have must been dragged in here, but the majority of them are all above seventy-years-old. She suddenly, inexplicably feels worried; maybe it's because she can't see how a group of Pai Sho-loving senior citizens could be a threat to the Fire Nation.

"This is the Resistance? Your Pai Sho buddies?" Jin blurts out in disbelief as she looks at her grandfather.

A few of them give her offended looks. Oops. Wrong thing to say. She manages an apologetic smile.

Her grandfather ignores her. Instead, he turns his attention to Huang. "What the hell is she doing here!? This is a _members-only_ meeting!"

Huang serenely smiles. "That's why I brought her here. I think that it is time for her to become an initiate."

Her grandfather slams his palm against his forehead. "Pah! She's not ready! I've already told you that!"

"None of my sons are ready and yet they are ready to go through initiation. We are at war, Luong. Times are changing and we must act before it is too late. We need all of the help we can get," Huang tells him as he gestures at all of his sons. Jin's classmate, his youngest, waves at her. She waves back.

"This is ridiculous! She's not even old enough to be considered eligible to be an initiate!" her grandfather protests.

Jin knits her brows together. "What are you two talking about?"

"Don't interrupt us in the middle of our conversation!" her grandfather barks at her as his fist descends on the table. "I don't like this, Huang! Jin doesn't have the proper mindset to—''

"She's a good earthbender and from what I've heard, she's intelligent and knowledgeable in Art and Philosophy. She's kind, patient and sweet—''

Her grandfather snorts disbelievingly. "Pah! _Sweet_."

"She's calm and level-headed and can think on her feet. She will be a great addition to the White Lotus," Huang says as he grabs a nearby rice cake and devours it.

In between mouthfuls, he adds, "Plus, from what I've heard, she dated Iroh's boy. She would be helpful in providing important information for us when we try to take Prince Zuko and his family down."

Jin's cheeks redden at the mention of Zuko. She shifts in her place, uncomfortable. "Um—''

Huang faces her and says, "Normally, we don't take in initiates at your age but circumstances change."

"But the rules don't have to!" her grandfather interjects.

"Luong, be reasonable—''

She tries to pay attention to their argument but her eyes lock on a man sitting at the far end of the table. He is tall with a full head of spiky, white hair, a beard and a long, stringy mustache. Her hands tremble when she sees his amber-colored eyes and burgundy robes. There's no mistaking the insignia on his sleeve. He's a firebender.

"Gramps...Huang...there's...there's a firebender here!" she finally manages to splutter.

Her grandfather gives off an annoyed huff. "Didn't I just tell you to not interrupt—''

"Gramps, there's a firebender! Here!" She gestures at the man and she is annoyed when the man merely gives her an amused smile. A few of the teenagers that are there snicker while others look at her sympathetically, as if they understand her confusion and panic. "Why...why aren't you attacking him!? Or tying him up!? Or—''

Lia speaks up, "Why would we do that? Jeong Jeong just came from a long journey. It will only make him uncomfortable."

"But...but...he's a _firebender_. He can't be trusted. He could turn us in and get us arrested and—''

Jeong Jeong smiles at her. "I would never do that. I am a fugitive of the Fire Nation, myself. If I turn you in, they would kill me as well."

Jin snorts and sarcastically says, "Great. A Fire Nation fugitive. That makes everything better. Why don't we just invite all the soldiers outside for tea while we're at it?"

Soh frowns at her in confusion. "But why would we do that? They'd kill us."

She nods her head. "Exactly. People from the Fire Nation are always out to kill us which is why _he_ shouldn't be here right now."

She points a finger at Jeong Jeong who calmly gives her a small smile.

Her grandfather waves his hand dismissively. "Quit yammering and let us finish our conversation. We can trust him."

Jin glares at him and places her hands on her hips. Her voice rises several octaves higher. "Oh, yeah? In the same way that you said we could trust Mu—I mean Iroh and Zuko? And look how well that turned out—''

Her grandfather holds a hand up. "Stop talking."

Jin promptly shuts her mouth. Her grandfather glares at Huang and says, "See!? This is exactly why you shouldn't have brought her here!"

He then stands up, stomps over towards her, grabs her by the elbow and says, "Come on. We need to talk."

"But the firebender—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go and do as you're told!" he explodes. Jin sighs and nods her head in compliance. Her grandfather starts walking upstairs and he tells her to hurry up.

Before she leaves, she sends Jeong Jeong a nasty, murderous look.

It unsettles her when he merely smiles at her in return.

* * *

"I'm only going to say this once so you better pay attention. And no interruptions. I hate interruptions," her grandfather says as soon as they reach the kitchen. He sits down on a chair and gestures for Jin to do the same. Jin stares at him suspiciously before taking a seat.

Her grandfather laces his fingers together and begins, "I belong to an ancient and secret organization that transcends the boundaries of the Four Nations. Our main goals are to share ancient knowledge across national and political divides and to help the Avatar. I don't want to get into how the whole thing started. If you want to know then look it up! Anyways, Mushi, or as you know, Iroh is a Grand Lotus and he has been captured. We're still in the process of busting him out but in the mean time we decided to put up the Resistance Movement."

He stops talking and Jin blinks at him. Her fingers drum against her thighs and she tries to wrap her mind around what her grandfather just told her. The idea of him belonging to a secret, ancient organization is actually kind of funny; images of him doing secret handshakes while he is in a cloak and hood pops into her head.

But it certainly explains a lot of things; the late night Pai Sho meetings, his need to constantly smuggle people in and out of Ba Sing Se, his endless connections of friends. Even some of the things he asked her to do now make sense—he was preparing her to become a White Lotus initiate.

Still, it still doesn't explain the firebender's presence in their super secret organization.

"But...but why is the firebender here? Why are you even friends with firebenders?" Jin demands.

Her grandfather's nostrils flare, annoyed. "Firstly, that firebender has a name and it's Jeong Jeong. Secondly, haven't you been paying attention to anything that I've said? We are an ancient and secret organization that transcends _the boundaries of the Four Nations_. Which means that we don't care about whether a person is from the Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom or _Fire Nation_. If you're good at Pai Sho and want to share knowledge and help the Avatar, then it's good enough for us."

"But—''

"Haven't I made it clear enough!?" he snaps.

"Well, yeah." Jin still has a lot of questions but she wisely decides not to say anything more. She sits there, without talking, just processing everything that she had just learned.

After a few minutes of silence, her grandfather stands up and nonchalantly says, "Well, now that we've got all that sorted out, you can go home and start preparing the gardening shop—''

"Wait! Go home?" she says when she finally regains her focus.

Her grandfather scowls. "Do your ears need cleaning!? I thought I made myself perfectly clear! Go home and prepare the gardening shop! We've got bills to pay and we can't do that if the damned shop is closed!"

Jin stands up so fast that she accidentally knocks her chair over backwards. "But Huang said that he brought me here to be an initiate!"

"And I say that you're not ready!" her grandfather retorts.

"Well, why not!? You heard Huang! He thinks—no, _knows_—that I'm ready! I'm a good earthbender! And I'm awesome at Art and Philosophy!" Jin defensively says.

"But you're a lousy Pai Sho player!"

"I don't understand what that has to do with anything!"

"It has to do with _everything_!"

She folds her arms and doesn't waver from his furious stare. She stubbornly says, "I don't care. I'm joining your Old People Pai Sho Club."

"It's not called Old People Pai Sho Club. It's called the Order of the White Lotus!"

"Fine. Order of the White Lotus. Whatever."

Her grandfather sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. He doesn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he looks at her and says in a quiet voice, "Jin, to be a member of the Order of the White Lotus, you need more than skill and knowledge. You need to be _accepting and understanding_. You need to be able to trust in other people, even those who you are suspicious of. Being a White Lotus member means having faith."

She flashes him a forced, wide smile. "So? I'm accepting. And understanding. I trust other people. And I have faith. Lots of it."

Her grandfather snorts. "If you're as accepting and as understanding as you say, then why were you looking at Jeong Jeong as if he just slaughtered an entire village?"

Her expression darkens. "Because he probably did."

Her grandfather exasperatedly sighs and gestures at her. "See!? This is exactly why you're not ready! You still can't let go of what the Fire Nation has done to you! And it's even worse because of Iroh's nephew, Kozu—''

Her fists clench. "Zuko—''

"There is resentment within you. We have plenty of other members who are firebenders. You can't work well within the White Lotus if you harbor hatred towards people of the Fire Nation. That isn't what the Order is about. We are about working together regardless of our nationalities," her grandfather seriously says.

Jin wrings her hands in the air and desperately says, "And I'm absolutely willing to do that. Look, maybe it bothers me _a little_ but I don't have any resentment towards the firebenders. At all. I swear. I'm willing to accept and understand and work with people from the Fire Nation. It's cool. I understand."

Jin understands.

Really, she _does._ It doesn't bother her that Lee—no, Zuko—tricked her, lied to her, conquered Ba Sing Se and turned the last, safe place in the whole world into the seventh circle of hell.

Nope, it doesn't bother her at all. Because she understands. She understands that he loves his country and is willing to do whatever it takes to glorify it. She understands that it was his plan all along to take away the homes and freedom of poor, defenseless, innocent people.

She understands that he never really cared about her.

She doesn't care because she doesn't feel hurt or upset at all. She's completely over it. She's perfectly fine.

Well, okay, maybe it did take her a week before she could talk about him using his real name and another five days before she could say it without wanting to punch something. And maybe she still wants to personally castrate him.

But whatever. She's over it. Really. _She is._

Her grandfather looks at her disbelievingly. Jin bites her bottom lip before saying in a pleading voice, "Gramps, I have to join. I have to do this. I have to help. I don't want it to be like before; I don't want to be a helpless little girl, hiding, while everyone else fights. I can't let that happen again."

Her grandfather tiredly sighs before grimly nodding his head. "Fine. I can't stop you. You will become an initiate of the White Lotus. That is, _if_ you manage to pass the initiation."

Jin's face lights up and she claps her hand together. "Great! Thanks Gramps!"

She moves forward and says, "So, let's get started on this meeting—''

Her grandfather stops her by grabbing her shoulder. "Hold it. When you get back down there, you're apologizing to Jeong Jeong. He's a respected firebender and you were very rude towards him."

Jin frowns. "But—''

"You're apologizing to him and that's that. Deal with it," he snaps.

She nods her heads, folds her arms and grudgingly mutters, "Fine."

* * *

The meeting went by uneventfully. After Jin had to (publicly) apologize to Jeong Jeong, the Order spent the entire day playing Pai Sho, drinking tea, eating cakes and making fun of the new Fire Nation bureaucrats. They briefly discussed recruiting new members, establishing safe houses and rescuing Iroh. But other than that, they didn't really talk about anything important.

She's a little disappointed because she thought that an underground, resistance movement led by an ancient, secret organization would somehow already have an elaborate, foolproof plan. But she decides that it's okay because at least there's a resistance movement to begin with. Even if it is led by a bunch of old people.

After the meeting, her grandfather pulled her aside and told her that they had the date for her initiation set up and that she had to prepare. She tried to ask him what he meant by "prepare" but he didn't answer her. Instead, he gave her some money and told her to buy some fish in the market because he felt like having fish soup for dinner.

So now she's here, trying to hurry to the fish stall, before curfew starts. She has about two hours left and that should be enough time for her to buy the fish and get home. But travel between the Rings has been difficult lately and she doesn't want to be too complacent.

She stiffens when she sees Zuko, walking around the market, with _another girl_. Her fingers drum against her thighs and she suddenly feels irritated. She's completely over the whole Zuko-conquering-her-city thing so she doesn't know why she feels so upset.

Her eyes sweep over them. They don't seem to be a couple. Zuko keeps walking a step behind the girl and his hands are stuffed in his pockets. He looks nervous and uncomfortable and he and the girl aren't really talking.

Jin knows that the smart thing to do would be to turn around and find another fish stall. But she's still a little (okay, very) angry with Zuko and she figures that messing with him a little can't hurt. She confidently strides over towards them and says, "Lee! I can't believe it! It's been so long!"

Zuko flinches. She can tell from the expression on his face that he is internally panicking. She smirks at him before focusing her attention on the girl, "Who's she? Your friend from the circus?"

She revels at his discomfort. The girl looks at her with a cold, appraising stare. Jin stares at her and matches her expression evenly. The girl is slightly taller than her with shiny dark hair, high cheek bones and smooth, pale, white skin. She's beautiful, in that distant, regal sort of way.

Jin thinks that she might be jealous but she ignores that thought process before it can develop.

Zuko splutters a story about her being a knife-thrower in a circus and Jin resists the urge to roll her eyes. The girl, Mai, then jumps in and leads Zuko to a fountain—their _Firelight Fountain_. Jin tries to keep her jaw from twitching.

Mai plops a fish on his head and breaks off an icicle from the fish stall's stand. She starts talking about demonstrating her knife skills and Jin nods. She's more than happy to oblige. In fact, she hopes that Mai misses and impales him.

But she doesn't. The girl throws with such perfect accuracy that even Jin is impressed. Mai then turns to her and raises one, perfectly arched eyebrow. There's a challenging gleam in her eyes that Jin does not miss.

She's about to decline when she finds herself taking the icicle from Mai's hands. The anger which she has tried so hard to expel is now back in full force. She suddenly remembers Zuko lighting all the lamps for her and kissing her back. She remembers all those times she went to the teashop and all those nights they spent walking in the Upper Ring. And then she remembers her grandfather telling her that Zuko is a part of the coup, that he is part of the reason why the Fire Nation has captured Ba Sing Se.

She takes a step forward and lightly says, "Well, maybe just one."

This isn't because she's jealous.

She's not jealous that Zuko is parading around the Lower Ring, with a really attractive girl, just a week after he conquered the entire city and completely betrayed her.

Nope. Totally not jealous.

Zuko gulps and Jin smiles at his anxiety. He's right to be nervous.

Jin isn't a bad shot. In fact, she's an excellent shot. Accuracy and precision are two things that are an immense part of her training. Hitting that fish will be easy—it's not a moving target and Zuko isn't even standing at a great distance. With just the right amount of pressure on her wrist, she can knock the fish off Zuko's head cleanly.

But of course she won't be doing that. She gives him an almost feral grin and he gulps. She throws the icicle and he barely manages to dodge it as he falls backwards into the fountain. A laugh starts escaping from her throat but it slowly melts into a frustrated, angry sound.

Mai says something about being even before running off, laughing.

Ridiculous. It's like she expects him to follow her or something.

(It's a cheap, stupid trick. But knowing Zuko, she knows that he will probably fall for it.)

She stomps over towards him, her jaw tight. She had been thinking about what she would say to him if the event would come that they would meet again. She had been thinking about this moment for so long. She had a plan that involved a big, dramatic speech with lots of curse words, metaphors and wild hand gestures and Zuko ending up, buried beneath lots and lots of rocks.

Instead, she grabs the fish on his head and smacks his face with it.

He stares at her, flabbergasted. "Jin...I—''

"Well, hello, Prince Zuko," she spits the words out in an acidic tone.

He freezes. "Um..."

She wants to say a lot of things to him but the words are not coming out of her mouth. She blames his eyes—they always, _always_ distract her. She thinks that maybe she should just go with her second plan; earthbend the living shit out of him.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your evening with your girlfriend, _your_ _highness_," she scowls as she turns around and starts to leave.

Zuko lunges forward and grabs her wrist. "Jin...wait...she's not my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, right," she mutters.

He pulls her back and forces her to look at him. At the back of her mind, she thinks of how cute he looks; his hair is soaked and there's a cute crease in between his brows. She is suddenly aching to reach out and card her fingers through his hair.

He suddenly wraps her in a hug and she stiffens. "Agni, you're okay! I was so worried. They had your grandfather interrogated—''

She glares at him. "Yes. They took him away and rudely carted him off even though he did _nothing_."

He winces. "I'm sorry. I made sure that he got out safely. He kept cursing at me though—''

She rolls her eyes. "Gee, I wonder why."

"Jin," Zuko sighs.

"Was this your plan all along!? To go undercover so you can take down Ba Sing Se from the inside?" she says, her voice lined with a hard edge.

Zuko stares at her with an exasperated expression on his face. "No...me and my...uncle..."

He trails off and looks away and immediately, she can tell that something is upsetting him. Something about his uncle.

Jin scowls at herself. She needs to focus. She felt sorry for him once and look where it got her. "Was I a part of your plan? Oh, look there's this attractive earth kingdom whore. I'll just have fun with her while I wait for the right time to take over the city and make everyone's lives a living hell."

"There was no plan!" he explodes.

She scoffs at him disbelievingly. "Sure there wasn't."

"Stop it," he says. There's hurt in his eyes but she doesn't care. A warm hand cups her cheek. He looks at her and says in a serious voice, "You know it's not like that."

She takes a step back from him. "Just leave. Go and have fun with your new girlfriend."

"Look, it's not like that. She's just my friend," Zuko firmly says.

She rolls her eyes. "In the same way that I used to be your friend?"

"Jin...I'm sorry. I was going to tell you but—''

She grabs another fish from the stall and throws it at him. Yes, she's aware that she's being overly dramatic right now and that there must be some rule against throwing fish at the Prince of the Fire Nation. But she hardly cares. Blood is rushing in her ears and it feels as if someone reached into her and squeezed her lungs uncomfortably.

But she rallies herself and squares her shoulders. She isn't going to let him get to her.

She marches off and leaves before he can say anything else.

* * *

**Author's Note: **In case any of you are wondering but are not sure: Yes. The last part was based on the comic Going Home Again. And if I remember correctly, Mai went running off before Zuko got up so this scene seems plausible.

Fair Warning: Zuko won't be showing for the next six chapters.

Thank you so much for the reviews! Please don't stop telling me what you think about the story. Reviews, questions and constructive criticisms are always welcome :)


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